LAFC advanced to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final for the first time in club history with a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. Denis Bouanga scored the game’s only goal, converting an 83rd-minute penalty kick to give LAFC the victory and a spot in the Final.
LAFC will host Sporting Kansas City at BMO Stadium in the U.S. Open Cup Final at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25.
The opening 45 minutes were tight, with both sides struggling to create clear chances. Kei Kamara had the best opportunity to break the deadlock, but his powerful volley late in the first half was cleared off the line by Seattle defender Jackson Ragen, keeping the game scoreless.
It would remain that way until the 83rd minute, when Bouanga converted from the penalty spot. A Mateusz Bogusz shot struck the arm of the Sounders’ Pedro de la Vega and Cristian Roldan inside the box, prompting referee Ricardo Fierro’s whistle. Bouanga, LAFC’s leading scorer in all competitions this year, placed his penalty kick beyond the dive of Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, giving LAFC a 1-0 lead.
Following Bouanga’s goal, the Sounders pushed forward in search of an equalizer, and they appeared to find one in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Jordan Morris headed the ball past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but the goal was overturned for offside and LAFC was able to hold on for the victory.
LAFC returns to MLS action for the first time since July 20 when it hosts the Houston Dynamo at BMO Stadium on Saturday, August 31. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
NEWS & NOTES
- LAFC has qualified for the U.S. Open Cup Final for the first time in club history.
- Since entering MLS in 2018, LAFC has now reached seven finals, playing in MLS Cup two times (2022 and 2023), and winning the trophy in 2022, while also playing in the Concacaf Champions League Final in 2020 and 2023, the Campeones Cup in 2023, the Leagues Cup Final in 2024, and now the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final.
- This was LAFC’s first trip to the Open Cup Semifinals since the club’s inaugural 2018 season when it lost on penalties to the eventual champion Houston Dynamo.
- LAFC is now 23-6-6 in all competitions in 2024. The club is 14-5-5 in MLS play, 4-0-0 in the U.S. Open Cup and 5-1-1 in Leagues Cup.
- In those four Open Cup matches, LAFC has scored 10 goals and conceded just two.
- LAFC is now 11-3-2 all-time in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- In 2024, LAFC is 4-0-0 against Seattle, outscoring the Sounders 9-1 and knocking them out of the Leagues Cup and the Open Cup, both on the road.
- LAFC is now 8-0-2 in its last 10 games against the Sounders.
- Wednesday night’s game was the sixth time that LAFC and Seattle have met in a single-game knockout style tournament, with LAFC going 4-2-0 in those matches, including wins in each of the last three (2023 Western Conference Semifinal, 2024 Leagues Cup Quarterfinal, and 2024 U.S. Open Cup Semifinal.)
- Hugo Lloris now has 14 clean sheets in all competitions for LAFC this season. This was his first shutout in the Open Cup.
- Denis Bouanga, LAFC’s leading goal scorer in MLS play and in Leagues Cup, scored his first-ever U.S. Open Cup goal.
- Bouanga is the sixth different LAFC player to score on the club’s road to the Open Cup Final, joining Cristian Olivera (3), Timothy Tillman (2), Tomás Ángel (1), Mateusz Bogusz (1) and David Martínez (1).
- Bouanga now has 23 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this year.
- LAFC made six changes to the starting lineup that fell to Columbus in the Leagues Cup Final on Sunday with Eddie Segura, Omar Campos, Lewis O’Brien, Timothy Tillman, Cristian Olivera and Kei Kamara all starting. They replaced Jesús Murillo, Ryan Hollingshead, Eduard Atuesta, Ilie Sánchez, Mateusz Bogusz and Olivier Giroud.
- Since suffering a 3-1 loss to San Jose on May 4, which dropped its record to 4-4-3, LAFC has compiled a 19-2-3 record in all competitions.
- Hollingshead, Kamara, and Sánchez will all have the opportunity to win the Open Cup for a second time. Kamara won it in 2012 with Sporting Kansas City, Sánchez won it with Kansas City in 2017, and Hollingshead did so with FC Dallas in 2018.
