LAFC snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday night at BMO Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers. The Black & Gold set a club record with 34 shots, including a career-best 12 from Denis Bouanga, who scored the equalizer for LAFC in the 79th minute, helping the club earn a point.
With the draw, LAFC is now 10W-7L-5D on the season for 35 points and remains in third place in the Western Conference.
The visitors wasted no time in going in front, taking a 1-0 lead in just the fourth minute. Timbers winger Kristoffer Velde collected an errant pass near the center circle and raced at the LAFC defense before sliding a pass between a pair of defenders for David Da Costa. Da Costa hit a first-time shot past Hugo Lloris at his right post, making the score 1-0.
The goal seemed to awaken the home side, which began to pepper the Portland goal with shots. Bouanga, Mathieu Choinère, and Yevhen Cheberko each had chances to equalize within 10 minutes of the Portland goal, but were unable to find a way past Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis, who finished the game with 10 saves.
LAFC set a club record with 21 shots in the opening half but was unable to find an equalizer. That trend would continue into the second half as Pantemis and the Portland defense were able to hold onto their lead until the 79th minute. With his team’s 30th shot of the game, Bouanga scored his team-best 11th goal of the season, tying the score at 1-1. The Gabon international collected a pass from Jude Terry on the left wing and split a pair of Portland defenders before firing a right-footed shot into the net from just outside the box, breaking a streak of 312 minutes without a goal for LAFC in MLS play.
Bouanga and Ryan Hollingshead each got close to scoring a winner for LAFC in the final 10 minutes. Portland substitute Vincent Janssen was sent off after being shown yellow cards in the 89th and 93rd minutes as the game finished 1-1.
The Black & Gold will be back in action on Saturday, August 29, when the club travels to the east coast for the first time this season to take on D.C. United at Audi Field. That game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Apple TV, as well as Coupang Play and SPOTV for fans in Korea. Local radio coverage will be available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, KYPA 1230 AM (Korean), and 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish).
NOTES
- With the draw, LAFC is now 10W-7L-5D in the MLS regular season, for 35 points. The club is 16-8-9 in all competitions.
- At home this season, LAFC is 7W-3L-2D in the league and 11-3-5 in all competitions.
- LAFC set a new club record with 33 shots on the evening. The club’s previous high was 31, which was set on July 6, 2019, against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
- LAFC’s 20 first-half shots were also a club record, breaking the previous high of 18, which was set in the second half of a 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake on July 17, 2021.
- Denis Bouanga had a career-high 12 shots in the game, including six on goal. The six shots on goal equaled a career-high.
- Bouanga's goal was LAFC’s MLS-best 10th from outside the penalty area this season.
- Bouanga’s 11 regular-season goals and 18 goal contributions in 2026 lead the club.
- In all competitions Bouanga now has 119 goals for LAFC, including 18 this year.
- Bouanga is just two goals behind Carlos Vela for the most regular-season goals in club history. Vela scored 78 regular-season goals for LAFC compared to 76 for Bouanga.
- Jude Terry and Aaron Long were each credited with assists on the Bouanga goal. For Terry, it was his first-ever assist in an MLS game.
- Terry now has one goal and one assist in the regular season, with each coming against the Timbers.
- Long now has four assists on the season, tied for the third-most on the team this year.
- Long has four assists in nine league games this season after tallying four in 204 appearances in the first eight years of his MLS career (2017-2025).
- Bouanga’s 79th minute goal snapped a streak of 312 consecutive minutes without a goal in MLS for LAFC, dating back to the 1-1 draw with Vancouver on August 1.
- LAFC fell behind in the fourth minute, equaling the earliest goal allowed by the club this season. LAFC also conceded in the 4th minute of a 2-1 loss at St. Louis CITY on May 13.
- This was the third consecutive game in which the club conceded the opening goal. LAFC is now 0W-7L-2D in MLS play when conceding first, compared to 10-0-1 when scoring first.
