FC Dallas drops second straight game, losing 1-0 to LAFC

FC Dallas wrapped up a two-game road trip to Southern California with a second straight loss on Saturday night, losing 1-0 to LAFC.

Denis Bouanga scored the game’s only goal late in the second half to extend LAFC’s unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions, including five straight shutouts in league play.

FC Dallas keeper Maarten Paes ended the night with a career-high nine saves in the match, besting his previous career mark that was set a couple of weeks ago in Tampa Bay during the club’s US Open Cup match. It was also his fourth-straight game with five or more saves.

LAFC’s goal came in the 74th minute, when Mateusz Bogusz collected a pass near the center of the pitch and played a through ball into the path of Bouanga, who raced in behind the Dallas defense before slotting his shot home his tenth of the season.

Instant Reaction: In a way, we shouldn’t be shocked by any of these types of performances anymore out of this club. LAFC is dominant at home and FC Dallas struggles on the road. This type of result was bound to happen. One silver lining may be that the defense, while giving up a lot of shots (17 total, 10 on target) nearly did their job on the night to ‘bend but not break’. Breaking down the two LA games tomorrow is going to be a chore to say the least.

Man of the Match: Paes, no doubt about it.

What’s next for FC Dallas: The club wraps up its three-game road trip next week against Minnesota United.