LOS ANGELES — For the Los Angeles Football Club, Game 1 of the best-of-three opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs against the Vancouver Whitecaps was not a shellacking like last year’s encounter — even if it felt like one.
A 2-1 victory over the Whitecaps at BMO Stadium gave LAFC, the top seed in the Western Conference, an early edge in the series, which heads to British Columbia next Sunday.
Goals by Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera carried LAFC, which conceded in the 95th minute as Vancouver pounced on a loose ball in the box that denied Hugo Lloris and the hosts a clean sheet.
Because each match in the series stands on its own, the scoreline did not matter beyond winning or losing.
Bouanga continued his torrid scoring record versus the Whitecaps, converting a penalty in the 30th minute that gave his team a 1-0 advantage.
After a video review confirmed that former LAFC defender Tristan Blackmon deflected a shot in the box with his arm, Bouanga stepped up and sent Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takoaka the wrong way, giving the French winger 28 goals in all competitions this year.
The go-ahead strike from the spot was Bouanga’s fourth goal against Vancouver in three MLS Cup playoff meetings, and his eighth through nine matches between the two teams the past two seasons.
Throughout 2024, LAFC was nearly perfect when it scored first, which it did a league-best 21 times in the regular season for an 18-2-1 record.
Coming off a 5-0 win at Portland in the Wild Card round, the visitors missed a chance to jump in front when Scottish international Stuart Armstrong, a Designated Player signing in September, slipped a pass behind the defense that Whitecaps leading scorer Brian White pounded off the far post in the seventh minute.
Otherwise, it was another quiet night for Hugo Lloris, who made three simple saves on the night.
With Vancouver struggling to create chances, particularly involving another Scottish international Designated Player, attacker Ryan…
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