LAFC vs St Louis CITY SC – October 2, 2024
Heating up at just the right time, the LAFC vs St Louis CITY 1-0 win on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium allowed the Black and Gold to improve to a record of 16-8-7 with 55 points this season. Denis Bouanga once again scored the game winner and the only goal of the match, marking his 19th of the season and the 40th of his MLS regular season career.
Dominating a majority of the match, LAFC outshot St. Louis CITY SC 20-7. Both teams almost went scoreless in the first half but it was LAFC who went on the board in stoppage time. About thirty-five yards from goal, Olivier Giroud received a short pass from Cristian Olivera and then passed the ball to Mateusz Bogusz. After bringing the ball into the middle of the field, Bogusz found Bouanga who cut inside and found a way through six St. Louis jerseys!
Of course in Bouanga fashion, his right-footed strike went past St. Louis CITY SC goalkeeper Benjamin Lundt to put LAFC up 1-0. After halftime, Giroud was able to find the back of the net but an offsides call prevented him from doubling the lead. Lundt was able to make saves on both Bouanga and Ryan Hollingshead, but there was never enough time for St. Louis to gain a successful offensive possession as LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris recorded his 11th clean sheet across 30 regular season games.
The win marked LAFC 10th regular season home win of the year, which was also the fourth time LAFC has won 10 or more league games at home in the last seven years. Sitting in second place of the Western Conference, they have guaranteed themselves a spot in the upcoming Round One Best-of-Three Series.
On October 5, LAFC will match up once again versus Sporting Kansas City in a repeat of the U.S. Open Cup Final.