Dénis Bouanga named October 2023 MLS Player of the Month
The October 2023 MLS Player of the Month sponsored by CELSIUS® has been jointly declared by both the Los Angeles Football Club and Major League Soccer. To no one’s surprise, that player is LAFC forward Dénis Bouanga had both a monstrous month and an even bigger season claiming this year’s Golden Boot last week.
Bouanga is the first LAFC player to earn the MLS Player of the Month accolade since September 2019, the month when Carlos Vela’s pursuit for the Golden Boot was highlighted. The 28-year-old attacker joins Adama Diomande (June 2018) and Vela (March, April, and September 2019) as the third LAFC player to receive the honor. In the award’s history, DB is the first player from Gabon to win Player of the Month.
Despite appearing in just three games, Bouanga topped the league in goals scored and goal contributions in October with six and seven respectively. Bouanga was named MLS Player of the Matchday 36 presented by Continental Tire after scoring goals in all three of those games, including a hat trick against Minnesota United FC on October 4.
The October 2023 MLS Player of the Month’s six goals in his final three games of a season put him down in the books for the second-most goals scored by a Golden Boot winner, and is only surpassed by Alex Pineda Chacón’s seven goals in his final three games for the Miami Fusion back in 2001.
With 20 goals this season, Bouanga is second only to Carlos Vela’s 34 goals in 2019 for the most goals in a single season in LAFC history. Throughout 2023, DB registered five multi-goal games (most in the MLS this season), including two hat tricks. What a monster.
Helping his club place third in the Western Conference, Bouanga and LAFC have clinched the playoffs and will look forward to becoming the fourth team in MLS history to win back to back championships.
