Bouanga's equalizer salvages draw for LAFC in Concacaf clash with Alajuelense

Despite dominating possession all evening, LAFC was forced to battle from behind in a 1-1 draw with Alajuelense in Leg One of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. The Costa Rican side took hold of the tiebreaker, leading away goals 1-0 through the first leg.

"It was a one-direction game, and it's disappointing when we just feel we could have had some more," said Head Coach Marc Dos Santos. "But it was 1-1, we didn't lose."

Denis Bouanga had the only score for Los Angeles, capitalizing on the receiving end of a Son Heung-min assist to make it 1-1. It was his first score since the MLS season opener against Inter Miami on February 21, providing the Black & Gold with a timely equalizer.

Bouanga is no stranger to success in Concacaf Champions competitions. With his 11th such score in the draw on Tuesday, he further extended his all-time club record over Carlos Vela.

After a slow first 30 minutes to open the contest, Los Angeles began to open up the attack and fire a barrage of shots at Alajuelense goalkeeper Washington Ortega. The 31-year-old Uruguayan did well to prevent an LAFC score, denying multiple tries from Sergi Palencia, Ryan Hollingshead, Timothy Tillman and Bouanga.

Despite all of the momentum leaning in the Black & Gold's favor, Alajuelense's Alejandro Bran flipped the match instantly by getting his squad on the board with their first shot attempt of the evening in the 44th minute. A stunned BMO Stadium crowd looked on as LAFC trailed in a game that they seemingly had total control of.

Following Bouanga's second-half equalizer, neither side could break through to claim an advantage. It was a physical end to the contest that saw Son and Bouanga hit the deck on multiple occasions without whistles from the referee. 

"It was an annoying type of very different referee than we have in MLS," said Dos Santos. "But the story of the game today has nothing to do with him; it has to do with us."

Dos Santos noted seeing teams play Son much more physically this season, acknowledging that it can be frustrating at times. However, he realizes that it helps create chances for others to contribute.

LAFC will look forward to Saturday as they resume MLS action and host St. Louis City. Through its first three games this year, St. Louis has gone winless at 0-2-1.

They will need to temporarily put Alajuelense out of their heads, despite the importance of the second leg game next Tuesday, according to Dos Santos.

"Right now, my head is on Saturday," he said. "I told the guys we need to put a pause on this game. We have to think about having fresh legs on Tuesday, but we also have to think there's an opportunity to make 12 out of 12 points in MLS."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.