The Los Angeles Football Club advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals, completing the sweep of the Vancouver Whitecaps with a 1-0 victory in Game 2 of their Best-of-3 Round One series at BC Place in Vancouver.
MLS Golden Boot winner Dénis Bouanga scored the game’s only goal in the 24th minute, converting a penalty kick for his 36th goal in all competitions this year after Mario Gonzalez had been fouled inside the box.
At the other end of the field, LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made a postseason career-high five saves to keep a clean sheet and give the club their first-ever postseason road victory.
The Black & Gold will now advance to the Western Conference Semifinals where they will face the winner of the Round One Best-of-3 series between the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas. That series is currently tied at 1-1 with Game 3 to be played in Seattle on Friday, November 10.
NEWS & NOTES
- With tonight’s win, LAFC is now unbeaten in five straight games in all competitions, and unbeaten in their last five MLS Cup Playoff games dating back to the start of the 2022 postseason.
- This was the first time LAFC had ever won a postseason game on the road. Before tonight, seven of LAFC’s first eight playoff games had been played at home, with the lone road game coming in the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs against Seattle, a game LAFC lost 3-1.
- In the 2022 MLS regular season, LAFC was 0-1-1 against Vancouver. However, the Club is now a perfect 4-0-0 against the Whitecaps in Concacaf Champions League and MLS Cup Playoff action, scoring 12 goals while conceding just two.
- LAFC is now 14-0-3 when scoring first in MLS competitions this year, including 4-0-2 away from home.
- LAFC played its 50th official game of 2023 tonight. The club has now played 34 regular season games, eight Concacaf Champions League games, three Leagues Cup games, two U.S. Open Cup games, two MLS Cup Playoff games, and one game in the Campeones Cup against Tigres. In those 50 games, LAFC has 21 wins, 15 losses, and 13 draws while scoring 90 goals and conceding 55.
- With his goal tonight, Dénis Bouanga has 36 goals in all competitions for LAFC in 2023. That moves him past Josef Martinez for the second-most goals in a single year in MLS history. Only Carlos Vela – with 38 goals in 2019 – has scored more than Bouanga’s 36.
- Bouanga, who already entered the game as LAFC’s all-time leading postseason goal scorer, now has five postseason goals in five postseason games with the club.
- Bouanga has now scored nine goals in his last five games with LAFC.
- Maxime Crepeau made five saves, setting a new career high.
- Mario Gonzalez and Aaron Long each made their first-ever LAFC postseason starts in the game while Nathan Ordaz came on at halftime to make the first-ever postseason appearance.
- Carlos Vela, the only LAFC player to have appeared in all nine of the club’s MLS Cup Playoff games, came off the bench in the 87th minute, replacing Nathan Ordaz. This was the first time that Vela did not start a postseason game for LAFC.
