LAFC Cruises to 5-0 Victory over Vancouver at BMO Stadium

May 12, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release

The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) extended its home unbeaten streak to seven games to open the 2024 MLS season with a convincing 3-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night at BMO Stadium. Denis Bouanga tied a club record with three assists, setting up a pair of first-half goals for Cristian Olivera as well as a second-half strike by Mateusz Bogusz to lead LAFC to its fifth home win of the season.

The Black & Gold is now 5-4-3 (18 points), leaving the club tied with the Whitecaps and Colorado Rapids for fourth place in the Western Conference.

LAFC came out of the gates flying, peppering the Vancouver goal with nine shots, including five on target, inside the opening 20 minutes, with the last of those giving the home side a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Eduard Atuesta hit a long, cross-field pass to Bouanga on the left wing, who dribbled past a Vancouver defender before hitting a low cross across the face of goal for Olivera to direct home, making the score 1-0.

Olivera, who scored twice in Wednesday’s win over Las Vegas in the U.S. Open Cup, got his second in the 36th minute, finishing a similar feed from Bouanga to give LAFC a 2-0 lead heading into the halftime break. Olivera now has scored five goals in the last three games in all competitions.

LAFC put the game out of reach with a third goal in the 57th minute when Omar Campos started a counterattack with a long ball down the left wing for Bouanga, who got past his defender before picking out Bogusz in the center of the six-yard box for his fourth goal of the season.

At the other end of the field, LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made four saves to record his third clean sheet in all competitions and his first since March 23.

LAFC is back in action on Wednesday, heading to CITYPARK to take on St. Louis CITY at 5:30 p.m. PT. (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 710 AM ESPN LA, 980 AM La Mera Mera (Esp), SiriusXM FC.

NEWS & NOTES

LAFC is now 5-0-2 at home this season, collecting 17 of a possible 21 points at BMO Stadium.

Since the start of 2023, LAFC is 5-1-1 against Vancouver in all competitions while also knocking them out of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League and the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Denis Bouanga, in the 50th regular season game of his LAFC career, tied a club record with three assists in the game. He joins Mark-Anthony Kaye and Diego Rossi as the only players to record three assists in a regular season match. Rossi…