LAFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs - Round One Best-of-3 Series - Game 1
Sunday, Oct. 27 at 6:45 p.m. PT
🏟: BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
🛍: LAFC HQ open 12-9 p.m. PT (in-stadium access only after 5 p.m.)
🎪: LAFC Fan Fest 2:30-6 p.m. PT at Christmas Tree Lane (north side of BMO Stadium)
🕹: Level Up Arcade open 4-6 p.m. PT pre-game and 90 minutes after the final whistle.
Following a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday that clinched the top seed in the West, LAFC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Stadium on Sunday, October 27, in the Black & Gold's opening game of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Sunday’s match— Game 1 in their Round One Best-of-3 Series—will mark the second straight year that LAFC and the Whitecaps have faced off in the opening round; LAFC swept the series in 2023 with a 5-2 win at home followed by a 1-0 win in Vancouver.
Sunday’s match will be the tenth encounter between the teams since the beginning of 2023, with LAFC holding a 6W-1L-2D advantage in the previous nine matches. The two teams last met just two weeks ago, with LAFC securing a 2-1 victory thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Ilie Sánchez. Both teams were missing key players in that match due to international duty.
LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo told members of the media on Friday that Vancouver is “a team on a mission. They may feel like they were shorthanded for the game on Matchday 33, missing six guys [on international duty] and then conceding a goal late after a pretty good second half. I understand the emotions of it and how they’ll feel. They are a good team.
“They are excellent at seizing on mistakes from opponents but also creating mistakes,” Cherundolo added. “It’s a very underestimated team that has a lot of quality.”
Whitecaps In Depth:
Coached by Vanni Sartini, the ‘Caps are determined to change their fortunes against LAFC in knockout matches. In addition to last year’s playoff elimination, Vancouver was defeated by the Black & Gold in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals, losing 6-0 on aggregate.
The Whitecaps concluded the 2024 regular season with a record of 13W-13L-8D, then cruised past the Portland Timbers in Wednesday’s Wild Card match, 5-0, spurred by a hat trick from Ryan Gauld. Prior to that victory, Vancouver had struggled, going seven straight MLS matches without a win (0W-5L-2D).
Gauld leads the ‘Caps attack. The playmaking midfielder tallied 28 goal contributions during the regular season with 13 goals and 15 assists. Brian White is their top scorer, contributing 16 goals and adding 2 assists.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It controls the pace of this match the way it has during its current six-game win streak. A formidable opponent when playing at BMO Stadium, LAFC went undefeated at home during in last year’s playoffs and finished the 2024 regular season with a home record of 11W-2L-4D — second-best in the Western Conference. “For us to be able to make another long run in the playoffs or a deep run in the playoffs, we need them,” Cherundolo said of the club’s notorious supporters. “In a salary cap league where every team has the same tools, you need your fans, you need a home stadium environment that gives you the upper hand.”
To maintain its home momentum, LAFC will rely on dynamic forward Denis Bouanga, who scored the opener for LAFC in its season finale last weekend, giving him a second consecutive season with 20 goals. Only three other players in MLS history have accomplished that feat.
Over its last six matches, LAFC has outscored opponents 14-4 thanks in large part to MLS Goalkeeper of the Year finalist Hugo Lloris.
“We are going to face a competitive team,” Lloris said after training on Friday. “We have a lot of respect for them. Their final position in the Western Conference doesn’t reflect the quality of the team. They should be a bit higher.”
Vancouver Can Win If:
They send numbers forward with the same efficiency and quality they displayed in their 5-0 blitz of Portland on Wednesday. The ‘Caps will most likely employ a 4-3-2-1 formation, aiming to win balls in midfield and strike quickly. They can smoothly shift to a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2, however, if the game demands it.
Vancouver’s top three attackers, Gauld, White, and Fafà Picault, will look to stretch a tactically disciplined Black & Gold defense that conceded just 43 goals during the regular season.
