VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC continued their Concacaf Champions League campaign with a 3-0 loss against Los Angeles FC this Wednesday evening in the first leg of the quarterfinals at BC Place.
The ‘Caps found an opportunity early on in the match. Following a corner kick delivery, Tristan Blackmon sent an attempt on target, which was strongly parried away by goalkeeper John McCarthy in the 13th minute.
After the halftime interval, the away side would open the scoring in the 55th minute. Bouanga’s strong shot from outside the box would find its way into the net.
LAFC would double their advantage in the 61st minute of the match. Forward Kwadwo Opoku converted his left footed strike into the bottom left corner following a ball won back in the final third.
The away side would extend their lead later in the second half. Bouanga dribbled his way through the box, and finished into the top corner to give his side a 3-0 scoreline in the 65th minute.
The Blue & White looked to find answers in their attacking half as the match progressed. Midfielder Julian Gressel crossed a ball into forward Simon Becher, but his header flew just over the crossbar in the 72nd minute of the match.
The ‘Caps continue their homestand as they host Cascadia Cup rivals Portland Timbers this Saturday, April 8 in the club's annual Vaisakhi Night. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
The Blue & White will then head to Los Angeles for the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday, April 11 at BMO Stadium, with kickoff at 7:15 p.m. PT.
MATCH DETAILS
Attendance: 11,652
Referee: Fernando Guerrero RamÃrez
Scoring Summary55’ – LAFC – Dénis Bouanga (Carlos Vela)
61’ – LAFC – Kwadwo Opoku (Dénis Bouanga)
65’ – LAFC – Dénis Bouanga (Timothy Tillman)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 44.3% – LAFC 55.7%
Shots: VAN 11 – LAFC 10
Shots on Goal: VAN 2 – LAFC 6
Saves: VAN 3 – LAFC 2
Fouls: VAN 4 – LAFC 6
Offsides: VAN 0 – LAFC 2
Corners: VAN 4 – LAFC 4
Vancouver Whitecaps FC18.Yohei Takaoka; 23.Javain Brown, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 6.Tristan Blackmon, 27.Ryan Raposo (14.LuÃs Martins 68’); 19.Julian Gressel (16.Sebastian Berhalter 79’), 20.Andrés Cubas, 31.Russell Teibert © (22.Ali Ahmed 62’); 25.Ryan Gauld (45.Pedro Vite 68’), 11.Cristian Dájome (29.Simon Becher 62’); 24.Brian White
Substitutes not used
1.Thomas Hasal, 32.Isaac Boehmer, 2.MathÃas Laborda, 7.Déiber Caicedo, 12.Karifa Yao, 26.J.C. Ngando, 30.Kamron Habibullah
Los Angeles FC77.John McCarthy; 24.Ryan Hollingshead, 3.Jesús Murillo, 33.Aaron Long, 12.Diego Palacios; 6.Ilie Sánchez, 23.Kellyn Acosta, 11.Timothy Tillman (18.Erik Dueñas 69’); 10.Carlos Vela ©, 99.Dénis Bouanga (30.Sergi Palencia 83’), 22.Kwadwo Opoku (7.Stipe Biuk 69’)
Substitutes not used
1.Eldin Jakupovic, 32.Abraham Romero, 2.Denil Maldonado, 14.Giorgio Chiellini, 17.Daniel Crisostomo, 20.José Cifuentes, 27.Nathan Ordaz
