On Saturday, October 28, the Los Angeles Football Club(LAFC) prevailed against the Vancouver White Caps. LAFC takes the lead in the best of three series against the Caps with their 5-2 win.. As the game started, the stadium was filled with the chants of the roaring fans as the initial whistle was blown. LAFC struggled to keep the ball balanced but that changed shortly after with the first goal of the evening by Ryan Hollingshead(#16) in the 18th minute, with a very short-range kick straight to the net. Shorty after in the 22nd minute the referee issued a yellow card to Carlos Vela(#10) for an aggressive slide tackle towards Vancouver. As commission was settling down, the second goal of the night was scored in the 27th minute Vancouver’s Brian White (#24)tied the game with a fast paced run towards the goal.
LAFC later regained the lead with MLS Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga’s(#99) goal. He fooled Vancouver’s center back and headed straight for the net. The Whitecaps equalized just before halftime on a Sam Adekugbe header. The combination of Hollingshead and Bouanga stepped up after the intermission, each scoring inside the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Hollingshead scored the eventual game-winner in the 52nd minute before Bouanga extended the lead to 4-2 in the 64th minute. Jesus Murillo rounded out the scoring in the 80th minute, heading home a Mateusz Bogusz corner kick to give LAFC the 5-2 win. LAFC faces the Whitecaps in Game 2 on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. PST in Vancouver. If needed the third game will be played at the BMO Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 9.
“We want to play the exact same way we’re playing here, we know Vancouver is gonna press us more in their home field but we’ll be ready for the changes they made from here to the next match.” said Hollinshead.
