‘Caps remain unbeaten versus Cascadia Cup rivals

• Whitecaps FC remain in first place in the Cascadia Cup standings, now going unbeaten (2W-0L-1D) in three matches versus Seattle (1W, 1D) and Portland (1W)
• Javain Brown made his 100th appearance for Whitecaps FC in all competitions
• After his late goal, Ryan Gauld now has 30 goals and 36 assists for Whitecaps FC in all competitions, the first player to reach 30-30 in the club’s MLS era

SEATTLE, WA – It was a dramatic affair in Seattle, Washington as Vancouver Whitecaps FC remained unbeaten against their Cascadia rivals and earned a point in a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC.

Seattle opened the scoring in the ninth minute. During a chaotic sequence in the box, Yohei Takaoka made a brilliant save to block Obed Vargas’ volley from close range but was unable to deny Jordan Morris’ follow-up shot.

The ‘Caps were not fazed, however, as they almost got the leveller off a corner a few minutes later. Brian White met the cross and redirected it towards goal, but Stefan Frei did well to get his hands on it and push it wide.

Whitecaps FC kept probing for the equalizer, passing it around in the Sounders half but unable to break through Seattle’s stubborn defence until Picault had an opportunity off a set-piece in the 36th minute. Ryan Gauld whipped a wonderful cross towards the back post, where Picault managed to rise above everyone else but looped his headed effort over the crossbar.

The start of the second half had Whitecaps FC hunting for an equalizing goal. Cristian Roldan had a good opportunity to double Sounders lead off a corner inside 60 minutes, but his header went well wide of the mark. Sebastian Berhalter, off the bench, tested his luck in the 73rd minute with a shot from distance forcing Frei to drop to his near post to save it.

Jordan Morris nearly got his second of the match as his downward header at the back post was blocked by Javain Brown before entering the ‘Caps net. Pedro de la Vega then almost ensured Seattle all three points when his flicked header off a corner hit the crossbar with less than 10 minutes to go.

Whitecaps FC would get one last roll of the dice in the dying moments of the match with a penalty shot. After video review, a handball was called in Seattle’s box on Nouhou when he attempted to block a shot from Berhalter. Gauld was able to step up and dispatch his penalty to make it 1-1.

Despite all the excitement at the end, both sides would have to share the spoils as the final whistle blew.

The ‘Caps will not have to wait long until returning to action with two massive home matches at BC Place. First, on Tuesday they host the second leg of their TELUS Canadian Championship series against Cavalry FC – tickets are included for season ticket members. Then, on Saturday they welcome Inter Miami CF for the first time in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 fans. For ticket information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

MATCH DETAILS

VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Javain Brown
Attendance: 30,102
Referee: Victor Rivas

Scoring Summary
9’ – SEA – Jordan Morris
90’+4 – VAN – Ryan Gauld (penalty kick)

Statistics
Possession: SEA 51.9% – VAN 48.1%
Shots: SEA 13 – VAN 8
Shots on Goal: SEA 2 – VAN 5
Saves: SEA 4 – VAN 1
Fouls: SEA 14 – VAN 12
Offsides: SEA 0 – VAN 1
Corners: SEA 5 – VAN 3

Cautions
36’ – SEA – Obed Vargas
43’ – SEA – João Paulo
77’ – VAN – Mathías Laborda
89’ – SEA – Nouhou
90’+4 – SEA – Nouhou

Ejection
90’+4 – SEA – Nouhou

Seattle Sounders FC
24.Stefan Frei; 16.Alex Roldan, 28.Yéimar Gomez Andrade, 25.Jackson Ragen, 5.Nouhou; 7.Cristian Roldan, 6.João Paulo (10.Pedro de la Vega 76’), 18.Obed Vargas, 11.Albert Rusnák (21.Reed Baker-Whiting 88’), 13.Jordan Morris; 9.Raúl Ruidíaz (17.Danny Musovski 88’)

Substitutes not used
26.Andrew Thomas, 14.Paul Rothrock, 15.Jon Bell, 33.Cody Baker, 75.Danny Leyva, 99.Dylan Thomas

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 23.Javain Brown, 2.Mathías Laborda, 6.Tristan Blackmon; 8.Alessandro Schöpf (28.Levonte Johnson 76’), 20.Andrés Cubas (16.Sebastian Berhalter 54’), 45.Pedro Vite, 7.Ryan Raposo (22.Ali Ahmed 65’); 11.Fafà Picault, 24.Brian White, 25.Ryan Gauld ©

Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 12.Belal Halbouni, 13.Ralph Priso, 14.Luís Martins, 27.Giuseppe Bovalina