This week the stars of the Los Angeles sports scene came together.

It was no different for LAFC in the opener of the first round of the best-of-three series on Sunday, as they cruised past the Vancouver Whitecaps to boost their chances of a third straight MLS Cup appearance.

“I was pretty happy with the performance,” said head coach Steve Cherundolo after the 2-1 win. “I think the boys did enough to win the first game of a three-game series and nothing more.”

Cherundolo’s team, which entered the evening on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, was tasked with containing the red-hot Whitecaps after a 5-0 wild-card win in Portland. The back-and-forth start was alleviated when Denis Bouanga opened the scoring from the penalty spot after half an hour.

Cristian Olivera doubled the lead just after halftime, putting the finishing touches to a wonderful 20-pass sequence from LAFC and firing the ball home at the near post, sending the home fans into raptures.

Vancouver’s Ryan Gauld scored a late consolation goal, but it proved to be too little, too late and the Whitecaps had to settle for defeat in the first game of the series.

“It’s definitely a no-job-done mentality,” said LAFC defender Aaron Long, who started the game as captain. “We have one more game, possibly two more games. But I think a lot of us weren’t happy about giving up that goal late either.”

“We want to finish this professionally and finish the game 2-0, even if we don’t win in the overall standings. At least as a defender it overwhelmed me a little bit, but let’s watch the film again, a great home win and move on to the next one.”

While Long started the game with the armband, he did not end the game with it. Cherundolo had a two-goal lead late in the second half and introduced Carlos Vela, the man undoubtedly most associated with LAFC. He made his first appearance since the MLS Cup 323 days ago. After spending most of that season as a free agent, Vela re-signed with LAFC in mid-September, but had no opportunity to make an appearance up until that point.

While his impact on the field was limited to a cameo lasting less than 10 minutes, his impact in the stands was felt from the moment he stepped onto the field. The crowd at BMO Stadium erupted at his introduction, highlighting the impact he has had on LAFC since its inception.

“It’s moments like these that make us fill stadiums and enjoy professional sports,” Cherundolo said. “There is always a personal and emotional side to it and Carlos was a great figure and a great player for this club. As you can see, he’s also very popular in the locker room, so it’s a great moment for him.”

“Carlos is a very important element for the team,” Bouanga added. “Everyone was happy to have him on the field, the players, the stadium, you could hear the stadium. He has a lot of qualities that we know he brings to the team… I want to play with Carlos and win with Carlos.”

LAFC will have to wait a week until their second game next Sunday in Vancouver, but with the good offense and reinforcements on the way, things are moving in the right direction. Given the excitement surrounding LA sports right now, including a 5-0 win over Western Conference rival Galaxy in Game 1, Cherundolo’s team faces a high bar. But for now they are content to get results over the finish line and take it one game at a time.

“For us, the best approach is always to try to win every game and we always take it half-time by half-time,” Cherundolo said.

“Yeah, we’d like to hit a grand slam in the 10th inning. But for us it’s not the World Series yet.”