Denis Bouanga made his history on Saturday as he scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 Major League Soccer (MLS) win over rivals San Jose Earthquakes which made him the club’s all-time leading scorer, Afrosport reports.
The 30-year-old scored a hat-trick in Gabon’s 5-0 win over Seychelles in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and replicated it against the Earthquakes after former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Heung-Min Son put LAFC ahead in the first minute of play.
Bouanga went on to score his hat-trick at PayPal Park in the ninth, 12th and 87th minute while Preston Judd and Sergi Palencia (own goal) netted for San Jose.
Bouanga’s hat-trick took his tally to 93 goals in 144 appearances, tying him with Mexican veteran Carlos Vela as LAFC’s all-time top scorer. He also tied Vela with the 13th occasion in the Los Angeles outfit’s history that he scored two or more goals.
Bouanga has now scored 18 MLS goals on this year and his just two goals away from becoming the first-ever MLS player to score 20 goals in three straight seasons.
“His dedication, his ability, and his mentality to come in and want to play and score and do what he can for his team is awesome,” Cherundolo said of the former St. Etienne player’s performance.
“[Son] and Denis, when they have fresh legs, they are very dangerous. They combine well, they play in behind … we hope we can keep putting them in positions to score.”
A trio on the night for Bouanga 🎩🎩🎩
With his hat trick tonight, Denis Bouanga ties Carlos Vela as @LAFC‘s all-time leading scorer. pic.twitter.com/5x6MIHFPTO
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 14, 2025
Bouanga’s hat-trick was his third of the season and once again joins Vela as the only player in MLS history with such a record while he is tied for the third-most hat-tricks among active players in the American top flight behind Josef Martínez (seven), Hany Mukhtar (four), Cristian Arango and Christian Benteke (three).
LAFC are currently fifth in the Western Conference standings while they are 13th in the combined table for the Supporters’ Shield.
