The 2023 Major League Soccer regular season came to a finish with a 1-1 tie between the Los Angeles Football Club and the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. In the 34th minute, LAFC striker Dénis Bouanga finished off a feed from Ilie Sánchez to score. To win the MLS Golden Boot, Bounga needed to score 20 goals during the regular season. He joins Carlos Vela (2019) and Diego Rossi (2020) as the only other players in LAFC’s short history to win the Golden Boot.

Ali Ahmend scored Vancouver’s equalizer from a cross from Richie Laryea in the 58th minute, putting the ball past LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. Maxime Crépeau made a goal-line save from a deflected header from Brian White four minutes later.

Dénis Bouanga won the 2023 Golden Boot as the league’s best scorer after tallying 20 goals in his rookie season in Major League Soccer. Bouanga’s 33 goals in 2023 were the third-most in Major League Soccer ever. The prize is Bouanga’s first as a member of the Gabonese national team.  Bouanga’s tally of goals is second all-time for the club, after only 2019’s record-setting total of 34 goals scored by Carlos Vela.

This result means that LAFC will face the sixth-seeded Whitecaps in the opening round of the MLS Cup Playoffs after finishing third in the Western Conference with 52 points (14-10-10). The release date for the game’s details has not yet been set.