LAFC (No. 1) visit Vancouver Whitecaps FC (No. 8) on Sunday evening, looking to close out their Round One Best-of-3 Series.
How to watch & stream
- Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
- FS1, FOX Deportes
When
- Sunday, Nov. 3 | 8:45 pm ET/5:45 pm PT
Where
- BC Place | Vancouver, British Columbia
Following a 2-1 win in Game 1, LAFC are just one win away from hosting either Seattle Sounders FC (No. 4) or Houston Dynamo FC (No. 5) in the Western Conference Semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24. Should Vancouver force a Game 3, the series decider will be played on Nov. 8 at BMO Stadium.
If a Round One match is tied after regulation time (90 minutes), no extra time will be played. There will immediately be a penalty kick shootout to determine the winner.
- Seed: Western Conference No. 8
- Regular season: 47 points (13W-13L-8D)
The Whitecaps' backs are against the wall following a Game 1 loss in Los Angeles, but playing an elimination match in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs is nothing new to Vanni Sartini's side. Powered by Ryan Gauld's hat trick, Vancouver roared to a 5-0 Wild Card rout of the Portland Timbers.
And the Scottish international's goal, deep into second-half stoppage time, not only gave the 'Caps a late lifeline at BMO Stadium, but will surely give them confidence, especially at BC Place, that they can send this series to a decisive Game 3.
"A lot of positives. We played well. We played, I would say, an honest game against an extremely good team," Sartini said after the match. "It's a team that is very strong. There's a lot of strength in this team; the first two or three steps are really hard to contain. And they're very good in transition. I think we did really well."
- Seed: Western Conference No. 1
- Regular season: 64 points (19W-8L-7D)
LAFC took care of business in Game 1, getting goals from Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera to move one step forward to hosting a Western Conference Semifinal against either Seattle or Houston.
The Black & Gold, who extended their winning streak to seven matches across all competitions, could have enjoyed an even more lopsided scoreline had they been a bit more clinical in finishing a multitude of chances.
"The performance is not enough, but we got the result so that's the most important thing," goalkeeper Hugo Lloris told MLS Season Pass postgame. "I think we need to increase our level if we want to have a mission. A win is a win, so that's positive.
"If we want to have a mission in this MLS Cup [playoffs], we need to do even better," Lloris added. "But I believe. We can do it. We need to realize that a game like tonight, we didn't feel safe until the end. So we have to do better."
