LOS ANGELES – LAFC steamrolled FC Juarez 7-1 on Wednesday night in the Leagues Cup Round of 32 in the City of Angels.
After defeating Austin FC to advance to the knockout stage, Juarez drew a very tough matchup in the defending MLS champions. Los Bravos hung in with LAFC for the first 30 minutes of the match, before the flood gates opened.
LAFC started the scoring in the 31st minute off of a corner kick, as Ryan Hollingshead deflected a ball into the goal. Two minutes later, Mexican striker Carlos Vela scored a beautiful volley goal off of a poor FC Juarez clearance to give LAFC a 2-0 halftime lead.
The second half started well for Juarez, as Amaury Escoto scored in the 48th minute to bring Los Bravos within one goal. The Juarez success, however, was short-lived.
Denis Bouanga scored his first goal in the 52nd minute to put LAFC back in front by two goals, 3-1. Vela then scored his second of the match in the 66th minute, followed by two more by Bouanga in the 66th and 78th minutes, as he secured a hat trick.
Nathan Ordaz finished out the scoring for LAFC with a goal in the 90th minute to put one more nail in the FC Juarez coffin.
Los Bravos will now return to Liga MX action after being eliminated from Leagues Cup. LAFC, meanwhile, will advance to the Round of 16 later this week.
