Denis Bouanga, Cristian Olivera score as LAFC opens MLS playoffs with 2-1 victory over Whitecaps

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick in the first half and Cristian Olivera scored early in the second to lead Western Conference regular-season champion Los Angeles FC to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night in a best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup.

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

LAFC grabbed a two-goal lead in the 57th minute when Olivera used assists from Mateusz Bogusz and defender Ryan Hollingshead to score his first playoff goal in his sixth postseason appearance — all starts. Bogusz notched his second career assist in his second start and sixth appearance in the playoffs. It was the second assist for Hollingshead in 20 career postseason appearances with 17 starts.

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

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

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

It marks the second straight postseason the two clubs have met in the first round. LAFC swept the Whitecaps last season with a 5-2 victory at home before winning 1-0 on the road. LAFC posted a 3-0 victory at home and a 2-1 win in Vancouver during the regular season.

The Whitecaps will host LAFC — aiming for its third straight appearance in the Cup Final — on Sunday.

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF FROM FIRST HALF - Vancouver Whitecaps defender Mathías Laborda, left, collides with Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga, right, during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF FROM FIRST HALF - Los Angeles FC forward Denis Bouanga (99) kicks the ball between Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ranko Veselinović (4) and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka (1) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Alessandro Schöpf, left, kicks the ball past Los Angeles FC defender Sergi Palencia (14) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF FROM FIRST HALF - Los Angeles FC midfielder Lewis O'Brien, left, celebrates a goal by forward Cristian Olivera, right, with midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (19) against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF FROM FIRST HALF - Los Angeles FC forward Kei Kamara, top, flies over Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) on a tripping foul during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF FROM FIRST HALF - Los Angeles FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz, left, gets tripped by Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ranko Veselinović (4) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud, top, leaps over Vancouver Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon (6) during the first half of the first soccer match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Vancouver Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe, right, controls the ball against Los Angeles FC forward Cristian Olivera (13) during the first half of the first soccer match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Vancouver Whitecaps forward Ali Ahmed (22) controls the ball against Los Angeles FC midfielder Lewis O'Brien (8) during the first half of the first soccer match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Vancouver Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe, center, kicks the ball against Los Angeles FC forward Cristian Olivera (13) and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (1) during the first half of the first soccer match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles FC midfielder Lewis O'Brien (8) vies for the ball with Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite, left, during the first half of the first soccer match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Vancouver Whitecaps defender Sam Adekugbe, right, controls the ball against Los Angeles FC forward Cristian Olivera (13) during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities, including the FBI, were investigating Monday after early morning fires were set in ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon, and in nearby Vancouver, Washington, where hundreds of ballots were destroyed.

The Portland Police Bureau reported that officers and firefighters responded to a fire in one ballot drop box at about 3:30 a.m. and determined an incendiary device had been placed inside. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said a fire suppressant inside the drop box protected nearly all the ballots; only three were damaged, and his office planned to contact those voters to help them obtain replacement ballots.

A few hours later, across the Columbia River in Vancouver, television crews captured footage of smoke pouring out of a ballot box at a transit center. Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey in Vancouver told The Associated Press that the ballot drop box at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center also had a fire suppression system inside, but for some reason it wasn't effective. Responders pulled a burning pile of ballots from inside the box, and Kimsey said hundreds were lost.

“Heartbreaking,” Kimsey said. “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”

There were surveillance cameras that covered the drop box and surrounding area, he said.

The last ballot pickup at the transit center drop box was at 11 a.m. Saturday, Kimsey said. Anyone who dropped their ballot there after that was urged to contact the auditor’s office to obtain a new one.

The office will be increasing how frequently it collects ballots, Kimsey said, and changing collection times to the evening, to keep the ballot boxes from remaining full of ballots overnight when similar crimes are considered more likely to occur.

An incendiary device was also found on or near a ballot drop box in downtown Vancouver early on Oct. 8. It did not damage the box or destroy any ballots, police said.

In a statement, the FBI said it is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact the nearest FBI office, provide information through tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI ( 800-225-5324 ).

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the state would not tolerate threats or acts of violence meant to derail voting.

“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” he said.

Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at www.votewa.gov to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State’s office said.

Washington and Oregon are both vote-by-mail states. Registered voters receive their ballots in the mail a few weeks before elections and then return them by mail or by placing them in ballot drop boxes.

In Phoenix last week, officials said roughly five ballots were destroyed and others damaged when a fire was set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station there.

Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed.

A replacement ballot drop box is unloaded on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The Portland Police Bureau reported that officers and firefighters responded to a fire in one ballot drop box on Monday morning. (AP Photo/Claire Rush)

ORPOR OUT - In this image made from a video provided by KGW8, authorities investigate the scene as smoke pours out of a ballot box on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Vancouver, Wash. (KGW8 via AP)

In this image made from a video provided by KGW8, authorities investigate smoke pouring out of a ballot box on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Vancouver, Wash. (KGW8 via AP)

In this image made from a video provided by KGW8, authorities investigate smoke pouring out of a ballot box on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Vancouver, Wash. (KGW8 via AP)

A replacement ballot drop box is unloaded on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Claire Rush)

This image released by the Portland Police Bureau shows a ballot box after an incendiary device was discovered inside, in Portland, Ore., Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Portland Police Bureau via AP)