Riverside players getting good look from LAFC
Los Angeles FC is taking a longer look at a couple of players from Riverside.
Luis Muller, who starred for the California Baptist University men’s soccer team from 2000-24, and Javier Hernandez, a Gatorade California Player of the Year finalist from Arlington High, both have been spotted on the bench for the club in recent weeks.
After scoring two goals for LAFC II in his debut, Muller was listed as a substitute for LAFC’s Major League Soccer match against Nashville FC on March 23 after the team announced his signing earlier the same day.
“Two Riverside players on the roster!” said Kevin Watson, former two-year captain for CBU and the head coach of the Arlington High boys soccer team.
Still in his final months as a high school senior, Hernandez was on the roster for LAFC II in a match against Colorado Rapids 2 on March 31.
“Got on the roster for the first time,” Watson said. “Now, it’s about getting some minutes.”
A native of Cottbus, Germany, Muller made his professional debut for LAFC II in MLS Next Pro and produced goals immediately, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Minnesota United II on March 17.
Despite not making it to the field for LAFC on March 23, Muller scored from the penalty spot to help LAFC II beat Houston Dynamo II 3-2 on March 24.
“He has first team quality, both technically and athletically, and he is completely invested in the process,” CBU coach Coe Michaelson said. “It was great to see him on the bench with the first team, and we expect to see him playing in MLS at some stage.”
Muller scored 26 goals with 19 assists in 69 appearances for CBU, and played for Redlands FC in USL-2 last summer.
Hernandez averaged a CIF-SS Open Division-best 1.5 goals per game for Arlington, which made trips to the CIF Southern Section Open Division final and the CIF SoCal Division I semifinals.
An all-CIF-SS Open Division first-team selection, Hernandez totaled 31 goals in 22 games in his only varsity season. He previously scored 91 goals in 83 appearances for LAFC academy teams at the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 levels.
“Obviously, if he was ever to go to the (LAFC) first team, that would change things,” Watson said. “He’s signed an academy deal that keeps his (college) eligibility.”
LAFC II competes in MLS Next Pro, which by U.S. Soccer Federation rule allows amateur players to be rostered by its teams.
Hernandez has signed NLI commitment paperwork to attend University of North Carolina in the fall.
Vista Murrieta High graduate Aydan Bowers is back on the West Coast after signing a one-year contract in March to play for Los Angeles Force in the National Independent Soccer Association.
Bowers, selected as a NISA Best XI defender last season while playing for Chattanooga FC, previously played for defunct California United Strikers FC from 2020-’22. He has 11 goals in 66 career professional appearances.
NISA begins its fifth season as the U.S.’s professionally sanctioned men’s third division. Los Angeles Force reached the playoffs last season, losing to eventual champion Flower City Union.
Empire Strykers star Marco Fabian ended the season tied for the Major Arena Soccer League lead with 35 goals.
Fabian scored four goals for the Ontario-based Strykers in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Tacoma Stars in the MASL season finale on March 31 at Toyota Arena. He finished tied with the Kansas City Comets’ Zach Reget for the league’s Golden Boot award.
The Strykers compiled a 3-19-2 record and missed the MASL playoffs. Fabian, 34, signed a two-year contract with the team in late 2023 and intends to play next season.
Norco High graduate Olivia McDaniel has signed a one-year contract in March to play professionally in Brazil with Santos FC.
McDaniel, 26, was the starting goalkeeper for the Philippines at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was Player of the Match for her role in a historic 1-0 group stage win over New Zealand.
A U.S. citizen and naturalized Filipino, McDaniel first played for the Philippines in the 2021 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying rounds and was instrumental in helping the country qualify for the World Cup for the first time.