The first 45 minutes were tightly contested, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances. Kei Kamara had the best opportunity to break the deadlock, but his powerful volley late in the first half was cleared off the line by Seattle defender Jackson Ragen, leaving the game scoreless.

That remained the case until the 83rd minute, when Bouanga converted a penalty. A shot from Mateusz Bogusz struck the arm of the Sounders’ Pedro de la Vega and Cristian Roldan in the box, prompting referee Ricardo Fierro to blow his whistle. Bouanga, LAFC’s leading scorer in all competitions this year, fired his penalty over the leap of Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.

After Bouanga’s goal, the Sounders pushed for an equalizer and seemed to find one in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Jordan Morris headed the ball past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but the goal was disallowed for offside and LAFC held on to win.

LAFC returns to MLS action for the first time since July 20 when it hosts Houston Dynamo at BMO Stadium on Saturday, August 31. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed live via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.