Red-hot LAFC, sizzling Bouanga come to Q2 with Austin FC searching for a result

AUSTIN (KXAN) — LAFC forward Denis Bouanga made a front flip look easy in celebration after he scored a nifty goal against Orlando City to seal his club's sixth consecutive victory June 15. When he comes to Q2 Stadium on Wednesday, Austin FC hopes his creativity takes a turn.

"He's a guy who came here last year and had his way on our field," midfielder Ethan Finlay said. Bouanga, the league's leading shot-taker this season with 89, scored twice against Verde and Black on Oct. 7 the last time he came to town. Finlay said it will take a collective effort to slow him down. Bouanga is third in Major League Soccer with 12 goals, tied with international superstar and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi.

"He kind of locked up the Golden Boot with that performance, but for me, that's a great challenge," Finlay said. "You're going to have to get down and double a guy like that, but we'll have to be good all over the field."

LAFC is one point out of first place in the Western Conference while Austin is hanging in the playoff picture in eighth, and right now, the teams are headed in different directions. LAFC is the hottest team in the league with their winning streak and Austin has dropped their last two matches by a combined score of 7-1. Following the 2-0 road loss to Colorado, head coach Josh Wolff had some tough conversations with players about seizing an opportunity that's in front of them.

"I was quite candid with some of our players," he said. "There's no way we can compete the way we did or remain in advanced positions as we did against Colorado and allow them to have a numbers situation that causes our midfield and back line issues. We built our clubs on roots, the foundation of hard work, collectiveness and the ability to grind and compete. We lost that with a few players in the first half and certainly the second half."

Those "look in the mirror" type moments, as Finlay put it, are jarring but also necessary.

"The last two performances were not up to the standard that we've created in Austin," Finlay said. "It resonated with a lot of the guys and I think guys take personal responsibility in different ways."

Finlay is getting back in the swing of things after recovering from a hamstring injury that he said was "a little bit slower process than I would have hoped." He said it was the first muscle tissue injury he's had in his 13-year career, but now he's feeling strong and ready. That's a good thing because Austin is in the middle of another stretch of three matches in a week and they're shorthanded with a thin roster plus international duty.

Thankfully for Austin, they face LAFC at home — and they've been much better there. Verde is 5-2-2 at Q2 Stadium and that's not lost on Wolff. He knows when the home supporters insert themselves into a match with a fever pitch, his guys respond accordingly.

"We have an amazing fan base and the energy will be there," he said. "The game will be, as most games in this league, played with a small margin."

Wednesday's match begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free to watch on AppleTV's MLS Season Pass.