Denis Bouanga Finally Solves James Pantemis as LAFC Fire 34 Shots in 1-1 Draw With Timbers

Thirty-four shots. Twelve corners. Ten saves from the man in the other goal. LAFC spent Saturday night at BMO Stadium trying to break down a wall, and when Denis Bouanga finally put a crack in it, there were only 11 minutes of regulation left to finish the job.

They never did. Bouanga's 79th-minute equalizer canceled out David Da Costa's fourth-minute opener, and the Portland Timbers survived a full-scale bombardment to leave Los Angeles with a 1-1 draw. For LAFC, a point snapped a two-game losing streak. For Portland, it felt like a heist.

Four Minutes, Then a Siege

The Timbers struck almost immediately. Per the Timbers' account, Kristoffer Velde won the ball in his own half and carried it all the way to the top of the box before teeing up Da Costa. ESPN's data logs it as a through ball on a fast break, and Da Costa's first-time, left-footed finish from the center of the box went into the bottom left corner. LAFC said the fourth-minute goal matched the earliest it had conceded all season.

What followed was less a soccer match than a shooting gallery. Bouanga forced James Pantemis into a save in the seventh minute, Mathieu Choinière did the same in the eighth, and Son Heung-Min and Timothy Tillman each had efforts stopped in the 18th and 19th minutes. Tillman then left in the 20th minute with an injury, and Jacob Shaffelburg came on in his place.

The barrage barely slowed. Son had a string of efforts from outside the box blocked, Bouanga had a low shot saved in the 22nd minute, and Ryan Hollingshead and Choinière both missed headers from the center of the box before halftime. Portland's best looks came from Cole Bassett, who sent two shots just wide in the 35th and 37th minutes. The Timbers went into the break ahead with a lead built on one clinical finish and a lot of bodies.

Bouanga Breaks the Spell

The second half followed the same script. Pantemis stopped Shaffelburg in the 50th minute and Bouanga in the 56th, and the Timbers lost Jimer Fory to an injury in the 56th minute, with Ian Smith replacing him. Hugo Lloris had to make his only save of the night in the 48th minute, from a José Caicedo shot outside the box.

LAFC turned to its bench in the 76th minute, sending on Ryan Raposo and Jude Terry. Three minutes later, Bouanga took Terry's pass on the left, slipped between two Portland defenders and ripped a right-footed shot from outside the box into the top right corner. Per LAFC, the goal ended a streak of 312 minutes without an MLS goal that dated to a 1-1 draw with Vancouver on Aug. 1.

Star Power

Bouanga was relentless. He took 11 shots and put six on target, and LAFC said those six shots on goal matched his career high. The goal was his team-leading 11th of the regular season, and the club says it was LAFC's 10th goal from outside the penalty area this year, the most in MLS. It also moved him to 76 regular-season goals for the club, two behind Carlos Vela's club record of 78.

The other side of that ledger belongs to Pantemis. Ten saves, five in each half, according to the Timbers, who said it was his second-highest total of 2026 behind a career-record 13 at Salt Lake on May 2. He was not just busy; he was bothersome, keeping out every LAFC shot on target until the 79th minute.

Velde, meanwhile, keeps stacking numbers. The Timbers said the assist gave him the outright club lead with nine assists and 14 goal contributions, and that he has now been directly involved in Portland's last four goals. Da Costa scored in a second straight match for his third goal of the season.

Terry deserves a mention, too. LAFC said it was his first career MLS assist, and that his only regular-season goal also came against Portland. ESPN credits Terry alone on the equalizer; both clubs also listed Aaron Long.

The Turning Point

The substitutions in the 76th minute changed the shape of the night. Terry had been on the field for barely three minutes when he set up the equalizer, and from there LAFC had the momentum and, eventually, a man advantage. Vincent Janssen, who came on in the 70th minute, picked up yellow cards in the 89th minute and in the third minute of stoppage time, leaving Portland with 10 men for the final stretch. LAFC kept swinging, but Son pulled a shot wide from a tight angle and Pantemis saved one more Bouanga attempt.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: LAFC 34, Portland 8. LAFC said the total set a club record, topping the previous high of 31.
• Shots on target: LAFC 11, Portland 2.
• Saves: Pantemis 10, Lloris 1.
• Corners: LAFC 12, Portland 0.
• Clearances: Portland made 44 to LAFC's seven.

What It Means

LAFC is 10-5-7 with 35 points, and the club said it remains third in the Western Conference. That is respectable, but the warning lights are blinking: LAFC said it has now conceded the opening goal in three straight matches and is winless in nine MLS games this season when going behind first. Next up is the club's first East Coast trip of the year, at D.C. United on Saturday.

Portland moves to 8-4-9 with 28 points, ninth in the West according to the Timbers. The club said it earned four of six possible points against LAFC this season and has scored in 11 straight matches across all competitions. The Timbers head home for a three-match homestand that opens against Austin FC on Saturday.

Portland's Martí Cifuentes summed up the trip in his postgame comments on the Timbers' site: "Overall, I think it's a valuable point."

Closing Take

LAFC treated Pantemis like a final boss in a video game, emptying the whole inventory and chipping away one sliver of health at a time. Thirty-four swings eventually produced one goal, which is great for the club record book and terrible for the standings. Portland will happily take the point and the bruises, and Pantemis earned the right to sleep through Sunday.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by lafc.com and timbers.com, including Martí Cifuentes' postgame comments.