LAFC finished off a perfect week, winning its second consecutive game to start the month of July, defeating FC Dallas 2-0 at BMO Stadium on Saturday night. Nathan Ordaz and Denis Bouanga each scored late first half goals, and the LAFC defense allowed just a single shot on target to claim the victory.
With the win, LAFC is now 9-5-5 on the season for 32 points. The club sits in sixth place in the Western Conference but has games in hand on each of the five clubs currently above it in the standings. LAFC is now 6-0-1 all-time at home against FC Dallas, having won each of the last six matches dating back to May 2019.
Ordaz opened the scoring in the 31st minute, completing a counterattack with a clinical turn and finish past FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes. Mark Delgado won the ball in the attacking half and quickly found Bouanga on the left wing. Bouanga played a pass ahead to Ordaz, who spun and placed a low, right-footed shot into the corner of the net for his second goal in as many games, making the score 1-0.
Just before halftime, LAFC doubled its lead thanks to Bouanga’s 10th goal of the season. He collected the ball on the left wing and ran at the Dallas defense before cutting inside onto his right foot and being knocked to the ground inside the opponent’s box by Dallas defender Shaq Moore. Bouanga stepped up to take the resulting penalty and fired his shot into the net past the dive of Paes, doubling the lead to 2-0 heading into the break.
In the second half, LAFC continued to pressure the Dallas defense, forcing Paes to make eight saves to keep LAFC from adding to its lead. Despite losing captain Aaron Long to injury in the 76th minute, the LAFC defense was able to keep Dallas off the scoreboard and collect its second consecutive shutout.
LAFC will be back in action for its third game in eight days when the team travels north to Minnesota to take on the second place Minnesota United on Wednesday, July 16 at Allianz Field. That game is scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. PT and can be seen live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with radio coverage available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, and 980 AM La Mera Mera.
NOTES
- LAFC is now 12-2-1 at home in all competitions this year, including an 8-2-1 record in league play.
- With tonight’s win, LAFC is now 6-0-1 all-time at home against FC Dallas, outscoring Dallas 13-3 in that time.
- LAFC has recorded a shutout in nine of the club’s 15 home games this year, including each of the last two. LAFC has now not conceded a goal in the last 250 minutes of play dating back to June 29 against Vancouver.
- Hugo Lloris is now 9-3-5 in the league this season, keeping seven clean sheets. Tonight’s appearance was his 50th appearance in the league for the club.
- Nathan Ordaz has now scored in each of his last two games, giving him five goals on the season. It is the first time has has scored in back-to-back games in his MLS career.
- Denis Bouanga and Mark Delgado were each credited with an assist on Ordaz’s goal. They rank first and second on the team in assists this season with seven and six respectively. No other player in the team has registered more than two assists this season.
- With his 45th minute penalty kick, Denis Bouanga now has 10 goals on the season. He is the second player in LAFC history to score 10 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, joining Diego Rossi who did so in 2018-20.
- Carlos Vela is the only other player to score 10 or more goals in three different seasons for the club, doing so in 2018 and 2019 as well as 2022.
- Bouanga now has 84 goals in all competitions for LAFC, leaving him nine shy of tying Vela for the most in club history. Vela scored 93 times in 186 games while Bouanga now has 84 goals in 133 games.
- This was Bouanga’s second game in a row with a goal and an assist and his fourth such game this season.
- By scoring first tonight, LAFC is now 55-3-5 in the regular season when scoring first since the start of the 2022 season.
