Denis Bouanga and Sergi Palencia each score a goal, LAFC beats Earthquakes 2-1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Denis Bouanga had a goal and an assists, Sergi Palencia also scored a goal on Saturday night to help Los Angeles FC beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.

Palencia scored his first career MLS goal in the 65th minute. Bouanga, on the left side, cut back to evade a defender and blasted a shot from the corner of the penalty area that was parried by goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto — known simply as “Daniel” — but Palencia slammed home the rebound to open the scoring.

Olivier Giroud, on the counter-attack, had his shot from the top of the penalty arc parried by a diving Daniel but Bouanga tapped the rebound inside the near post to make it 2-0 in the 86th.

Josef Martínez, near the penalty spot, calmly waited an three defenders closed in, then tapped a pass to Cristian Espinoza for a first-touch finish that got San Jose (3-4-1) on the board in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

LAFC (4-4-0) had lost back-to-back games and four of its last five.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up