Dénis Bouanga selected for MLS Player of the Matchday 7
Announced today, MLS and LAFC have voted in Dénis Bouanga as the MLS Player of the Matchday 7.
On Saturday, April 8, LAFC defeated Austin FC 3-0 at home, with all three goals coming from Bouanga. Bouanga scored his first ever hat trick in the MLS, making him the fifth player in LAFC history to accomplish the feat.
LAFC now has a total of eight hat tricks since their Major League Soccer debut in 2018, and three more than the next-closest teams. The Black and Gold also have the most hat tricks in the MLS since 2018.
With six goals this season, Bouanga leads LAFC and is second in MLS. The French winger now has 11 goals in nine games this season across all competitions, including two multi-goal games during regular season play. Bouanga is tied for second with Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada with eight goal contributions after scoring six goals and dishing out two assists so far this season. His average of 1.18 goals per 90 minutes ranks third amongst players who are eligible.
As the MLS Player of the Matchday 7, Bouanga is the only other LAFC player to be named with the honor since Carlos Vela’s accomplishment in the first game of the 2022 season. LAFC is the only club to have a player win this accolade in each of their last six seasons.
The MLS Player of the Matchday 7 is presented by Continental Tire. Every matchday of the regular season, MLS Communications conducts a poll of the media and fans to make the selection. 75 percent of the votes are cast by a group of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR), and the remaining 25 percent are conducted by Twitter fan votes.
