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LOS ANGELES — Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick in the first half and Cristian Olivera scored early in the second to lead Western Conference regular-season champion Los Angeles FC to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in a best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup. LAFC took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on the PK goal by Bouanga. The reigning conference champs were awarded the kick after a foul was called on Vancouver defender Tristan Blackmon. It was the eighth postseason goal for Bouanga in his ninth career start. LAFC grabbed a two-goal lead in the 57th minute when Olivera used assists from Mateusz Bogusz and defender Ryan Hollingshead to score. Vancouver avoided the shutout when Ryan Gauld scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
