• Whitecaps FC finish in second place in West Group 3, will face winner of West Group 1 in Round of 32
• With his assist on the winning goal, Ryan Gauld reached 50 goal contributions for Whitecaps FC
• Brian White scored his 12th goal across all competitions this season, equaling his best scoring season with the club – tallied 12 goals in 2021

CARSON, CA – It was a humid affair in Carson, California as Vancouver Whitecaps FC snatched two late goals against Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night to clinch their place in the Round of 32 of the Leagues Cup 2023.

It was nearly an identical start to the last match between the two sides, with the ‘Caps almost taking an early lead. J.C. Ngando picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and fed Brian White clean through on goal, only to have his effort stopped by onrushing Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Mićović.

However, it would be the Galaxy who would open the scoreline in the 16th minute. Riqui Puig linked up with Lucas Calegari in a clever give-and-go on the edge of the box before the Spaniard unleashed a pinpoint shot past Isaac Boehmer to give the home side the 1-0 advantage.

The Blue and White repeled the Galaxy’s attacks for the rest of the half, with some important blocks and interceptions coming from Ranko Veselinović and Tristan Blackmon. White had a glance at goal at the end of the first half, but his chipped shot from inside the box would sail over the crossbar.

Early in the second half, the ‘Caps maintained some good possession before substitute Pedro Vite had a volley saved by Mićović.

Tyler Boyd would nearly double the Galaxy’s lead a few minutes later, fizzing his shot from inside the box just wide of Boehmer’s goal.

Momentum would swing back in Galaxy’s favour, with both Puig and Dejan Joveljić coming close to making it a two-nil lead halfway through the second half.

But 10 minutes before fulltime, Whitecaps FC would level the scoreline against the run of play. Gauld whipped a cross into a busy box, forcing Calegari to take an awkward touch, directing the ball into the back of his own net.

The Galaxy would try to win back the lead moments later through Joveljić, who forced Boehmer into a huge save to keep the match level.

However, it would be the ‘Caps who would find the winner in the 91st minute through White. A series of chaotic passes in and around the box would find Gauld. His acrobatic pass put White on goal, whose shot slid past Mićović and eventually gave the ‘Caps the 2-1 win on the night.

With the victory, Whitecaps FC finished second in West Group 3 with four points and have progressed to the Leagues Cup Round of 32, which will take place between August 2nd and August 4th against the winner of West Group 1. The ‘Caps next MLS home match comes against Western Conference rivals San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday, August 20th, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

MATCH DETAILS

Attendance: 14,787
Referee: Walter López Castellanos

Scoring Summary
16’ – LA – Riqui Puig (Lucas Calegari)
81’ – LA – Lucas Calegari (OG)
90’+1 – VAN – Brian White (Ryan Gauld)

Statistics
Possession: LAG 61.1% – VAN 38.9%
Shots: LAG 16 – VAN 10
Shots on Goal: LAG 3 – VAN 3
Saves: LAG 2 – VAN 2
Fouls: LAG 13 – VAN 9
Offsides: LAG 0 – VAN 0
Corners: LAG 4 – VAN 5

Cautions
42’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
48’ – LAG – Douglas Costa

Los Angeles Galaxy
35.Novak Mićović; 2.Lucas Calegari, 24.Jalen Neal, 93.Tony Alfaro, 3.Julian Aude (44.Raheem Edwards 76’); 37.Daniel Aguirre (7.Efraín Álvarez 89’), 16.Uri Rosell (18.Kevin Leerdam 89’), 6.Riqui Puig; 11.Tyler Boyd (20. Memo Rodríguez 76’), 9.Dejan Joveljić, 10.Douglas Costa

Substitutes not used
1.Jonathan Bond, 33.Jonathan Klinsmann, 15.Eriq Zavaleta, 17.Chris Mavinga, 19.Mauricio Cuevas, 30.Gino Vivi, 31.Preston Judd, 43.Adam Saldaña

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
32.Isaac Boehmer; 6.Tristan Blackmon, 4.Ranko Veselinović (12.Karifa Yao 35’), 2.Mathías Laborda; 27.Ryan Raposo, 26.J.C. Ngando (45.Pedro Vite 55’), 20.Andrés Cubas, 8.Alessandro Schöpf (28.Levonte Johnson 76’), 25.Ryan Gauld; 9.Sergio Córdova (7.Déiber Caicedo 76’), 24.Brian White

Substitutes not used
1.Thomas Hasal, 18.Yohei Takaoka, 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 23.Javain Brown, 29.Simon Becher, 31.Russell Teibert, 61.Matteo Campagna