Denis Bouanga scored a penalty in the first half and Cristian Olivera scored early in the second to lift Western Conference regular-season champions Los Angeles FC to a 2-1 best-of-three victory on Sunday night the Vancouver Whitecaps first round series for the MLS Cup.

LAFC took a 1-0 lead on Bouanga’s PK goal in the 30th minute. The defending conference champions were awarded the free kick after a foul was called on Vancouver defender Tristan Blackmon. It was Bouanga’s eighth postseason goal in his ninth career start. Bouanga scored 20 regular season goals in each of the last two seasons.

LAFC secured a two-goal lead in the 57th minute when Olivera capitalized on assists from Mateusz Bogusz and defender Ryan Hollingshead to score his first playoff goal in his sixth postseason game – it all started. Bogusz recorded his second career assist in his second start and sixth playoff appearance. It was Hollingshead’s second assist in 20 postseason appearances spanning 17 starts.

Vancouver avoided the shutout when Ryan Gauld scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Gauld scored a hat trick for his first three postseason career goals in the Whitecaps’ 5-0 wild-card win over the Portland Timbers.

Hugo Lloris concluded his first season in the league with three saves in goal for LAFC.

Yohei Takaoka, coming off his first postseason shutout in the win over the Timbers, totaled two saves in his fourth postseason start.

It is the second straight postseason duel in which the two clubs meet in the first round. LAFC defeated the Whitecaps last season with a 5-2 home win before winning 1-0 away. LAFC posted a 3-0 win at home and a 2-1 win in Vancouver during the regular season.

The Whitecaps host LAFC on Sunday as they look to play in the cup final for the third time in a row.