LAFC Defeats St. Louis City 1-0 at BMO Stadium
October 3, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release
LAFC won its third straight game in all competitions, with all three victories coming in a span of eight days, by defeating St. Louis CITY 1-0 at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night. Denis Bouanga scored the game's only goal in first-half stoppage time to help his club improve to 16-8-7 for 55 points on the season.
The home side dominated throughout the match, outshooting St. Louis 20-7 and holding a 6-0 lead in shots on target, but LAFC was unable to get on the scoreboard until first-half stoppage time when LAFC's front four attackers combined to open the scoring. Olivier Giroud collected a short pass from Cristian Olivera about 35 yards from goal and deftly flicked the ball into the path of Mateusz Bogusz. The Polish international carried the ball into the center of the field before finding Bouanga near the corner of the box. He cut inside onto his right foot and dribbled past a pair of St. Louis defenders before hitting a right-footed shot past St. Louis goalkeeper Benjamin Lundt to make the score 1-0.
After the break, LAFC kept up the pressure with Giroud putting the ball into the net, only for it to be called back for offside, while Bouanga and Ryan Hollingshead were each denied by Lundt. Despite the visitors' defensive heroics, LAFC was able to keep St. Louis CITY off the scoreboard and collect the full three points.
LAFC will look to extend its winning streak to four when it returns to action on Saturday, October 5, in a repeat of the U.S. Open Cup Final against Sporting Kansas City. That regular-season game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. from Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City and can be seen live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
NEWS & NOTES
With the win, LAFC is now 16-8-7 on the season for 55 points. The 16 wins are tied for the third most in club history while the 55 points are the fourth most in club history.
Tonight's win was LAFC's 10th regular-season home win of the year. This is the fourth time in seven years that LAFC has won 10 or more league games at home.
LAFC swept the season series against St. Louis CITY and is now 3-0-1 all-time against the club. LAFC has scored six goals in those four games and has yet to allow one.
LAFC currently sits in second place in the Western Conference standings and can finish no lower than seventh, meaning that it is guaranteed a place in a Round One Best-of-Three Series.
Denis Bouanga's first-half goal was his 19th of the season and the 40th of his MLS-regular-season career.
Bouanga remains alone in second place on the MLS scoring chart, three goals behind the league leader, Christian Benteke of D.C. United.
Bouanga is the third player in club history to record 40 or more regular-season goals, joining Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi.
Bouanga was playing the 100th game of his LAFC career in all competitions. He has 67 goals in that time, scoring 40 in the MLS regular season, 12 in Leagues Cup, seven in the Concacaf Champions League, seven in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and one in the U.S. Open Cup.
Carlos Vela, the all-time leading scorer in LAFC history, also scored 67 goals in his first 100 games for the club.
Bouanga now has an MLS-best nine game-winning goals on the season. That is tied for the most game-winning goals by an LAFC player in a single season, and is tied for the third most in MLS history.
Mateusz Bogusz and Olivier Giroud were each credited with assists on the goal.
Giroud now has assists in each of the last two games, while Bogusz now has 10 assists in all competitions this year.
Hugo Lloris kept his 11th clean sheet in 30 regular-season games.
With his 11th shutout of the season, Lloris now leads MLS and has set a new LAFC record for shutouts in a season.
His 11 shutouts leave him tied with Maxime Crepeau for the second most all-time in LAFC history. Only Tyler Miller has more with 19 in an LAFC shirt.
Defender Sergi Palencia missed the game while serving a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...
Major League Soccer Stories from October 3, 2024
- Goalkeeper Duran Ferree & the U.S. Under-19 Men's Youth National Team Head to Spain for Matches against Sweden & Japan - San Diego FC
- Six Earthquakes Players Called for International Duty - San Jose Earthquakes
- Inter Miami CF to Kick off MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Action in Standalone Match on Friday, October 25 Airing Free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV - Inter Miami CF
- Lionel Messi Voted MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 36 - Inter Miami CF
- Head Coach 'Tata' Martino and Messi Named to MLS Team of the Matchday - Inter Miami CF
- Charlotte FC Forward Karol Swiderski Named to MLS Team of the Matchday - Charlotte FC
- Hernán López Selected to MLS Team of the Matchday - San Jose Earthquakes
- Coco Carrasquilla and Erik Sviatchenko Named to MLSSoccer.com Team of the Matchday - Houston Dynamo FC
- FC Cincinnati Academy Earn Wins in Early Season Road Trip - FC Cincinnati
- FC Cincinnati Need to Become a Team Again, Pat Noonan Says, to Return to Winning Ways - FC Cincinnati
- New England Revolution Academy Highlights: October 3, 2024 - New England Revolution
- Five Points: Mitja Scores - New York City FC
- Matchday Guide: FC Cincinnati vs Orlando City SC - Fan Appreciation - FC Cincinnati
- LAFC Defeats St. Louis City 1-0 at BMO Stadium - Los Angeles FC
- Hernán López brace, Jeremy Ebobisse insurance goal power San Jose to victory - San Jose Earthquakes
- Sounders FC Earns Pivotal 3-0 Western Conference Victory on the Road at Vancouver - Seattle Sounders FC
- Timbers Suffer 1-0 Defeat to Austin FC at Providence Park - Portland Timbers
- LA Galaxy Earn 3-1 Win over Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday Night - LA Galaxy
- Connor Ronan Scores First Goal of Season, Rapids Fall to Top-Seeded LA Galaxy - Colorado Rapids
- Austin FC Earns Shutout Win over Portland Timbers - Austin FC
- St. Louis CITY SC Edged 1-0 Versus LAFC at BMO Stadium - St. Louis City SC
- FC Dallas Falls 3-2 to the San Jose Earthquakes - FC Dallas
- Whitecaps FC Suffer 3-0 Loss to Seattle - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Minnesota United Clinches a Spot in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs - Minnesota United FC
- Inter Miami CF Defeats Columbus Crew on the Road, Clinch Historic First Supporters' Shield Title for the Club - Inter Miami CF
- Revolution Fall to Houston Dynamo FC, 2-1 - New England Revolution
- D.C. United Win 4-3 against Nashville SC on the Road - D.C. United
- Martínez Lifts CF Montréal over Atlanta - Club de Foot Montreal
- Chicago Fire FC Falls 4-3 to Charlotte FC - Chicago Fire FC
- Houston Dynamo FC Defeat New England Revolution 2-1 at Shell Energy Stadium - Houston Dynamo FC
- FC Cincinnati Official Club Statement - FC Cincinnati
- Join the Celebration: Inter Miami to Present Historic Supporters' Shield on October 19 During Fan Appreciation Night Presented by Florida Blue - Inter Miami CF
- Red Bulls Defeat Toronto FC 4-1 at BMO Field - New York Red Bulls
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
