‘Caps return to winning ways following a brace from captain Ryan Gauld

• Gauld has now scored four goals in his past three MLS appearances, nine goal contributions in his last 12 games
• With his 10th game winning goal for the ‘Caps, Gauld has passed Lucas Cavallini for the second most in the club’s MLS history
• This is the 13th time that Gauld has tallied multiple goal contributions in one game during his Whitecaps FC career
• Whitecaps FC now have a record of 4W-2L-2D on the road this MLS season, matching their away win total from 2023

KANSAS CITY, KS – It was an end-to-end match in Kansas City, as Vancouver Whitecaps FC earned yet another road win, this time to the tune of 2-1 over Sporting Kansas City.

The match began with action at both ends, with Kansas City starting strong. Jacob Davis tested Yohei Takaoka inside two minutes from range, trying to curl into the far post but Takaoka met it the entire way. Sebastian Berhalter then made a last-ditch tackle to deny William Agada a certain goal just a minute later. Agada came close in the 10th minute to put his side ahead, getting on the end of a good cross from Alenis Vargas but his header in front of the net went just wide.

Ryan Raposo almost squeezed in a goal from a close angle a few minutes later, but his shot rustled the side netting. Takaoka saved Whitecaps FC from going one behind in the 15th minute, throwing a hand out to parry a deceptive long free kick from Felipe Hernández. A little while later, Brian White nearly looped a diving header into the back of the net after meeting a deft chipped cross from Berhalter, but it just looped over the crossbar.

White almost caught out John Pulskamp with another looping header inside 30 minutes, but it was cleared out before it could bounce over the goal-line. Whitecaps FC finally broke the deadlock in the 38th minute off a long throw. Gauld capitalized off a loose ball in the box after his initial shot was blocked, enabling him to dribble past the opposition to tuck it home for the lead.

Whitecaps FC would hold on to that lead all the way until the referee’s whistle for halftime, going into the break with a goal to the good.

The second half began with the ‘Caps putting the pressure on. Luís Martins nearly forced Dany Rosero to put the ball into his own net after driving a ball across goal, but he instead looped it just over the crossbar. Javain Brown then almost got on the end of a good free kick from Gauld, going at full-stretch at the back post but unable to turn it towards goal.

Whitecaps FC kept strong for the rest of the second half, and were rewarded with their second goal in the 82nd minute, once again through Gauld. The Scot picked up a loose pass in the SKC half and drove towards goal. Bursting past SKC players, Gauld picked his spot and placed it past Pulskamp to double his tally on the night.

SKC would get one back right at the death. A dizzying run by Khiry Shelton allowed him to slot it to Marinos Tzionis for a tap-in. But even with that late goal against, Whitecaps FC did enough to earn a crucial three points away from home.

Next up for the ‘Caps is a home match at BC Place this coming Saturday, June 1 as they take on Colorado Rapids during the club’s ’70s Match presented by Recycle BC. For ticket information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.

MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Ryan Gauld
Attendance: 17,046
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Scoring Summary
39’ – VAN – Ryan Gauld
82’ – VAN – Ryan Gauld
90’+2 – SKC – Marinos Tzionis (Khiry Shelton)

Statistics
Possession: SKC 61.5% – VAN 38.5%
Shots: SKC 10 – VAN 13
Shots on Goal: SKC 5 – VAN 2
Saves: SKC 0 – VAN 4
Fouls: SKC 9 – VAN 11
Offsides: SKC 2 – VAN 3
Corners: SKC 4 – VAN 4

Cautions
6’ – VAN – Bjørn Inge Utvik
42’ – SKC – Khiry Shelton
75’ – SKC – Robert Castellanos

Sporting Kansas City
1.John Pulskamp; 11.Khiry Shelton, 19.Robert Castellanos, 5.Dany Rosero, 22.Zorhan Bassong (14.Tim Leibold 57’); 17.Jacob Davis (77.Marinos Tzionis 79’), 6.Nemanja Radoja, 21.Felipe Hernández; 20.Alenis Vargas (7.Johnny Russell 57’), 23.William Agada (9.Alan Pulido 57’), 30.Stephen Afrifa (10.Dániel Sallói HT)

Substitutes not used
29.Tim Melia, 3.Andreu Fontàs, 4.Robert Voloder, 28.Chris Rindov

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 23.Javain Brown, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 15.Bjørn Inge Utvik; 7.Ryan Raposo (22.Ali Ahmed 70’), 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 20.Andrés Cubas, 8.Alessandro Schöpf (27.Giuseppe Bovalina 90’), 14.Luís Martins (2.Mathías Laborda 77’); 24.Brian White (11.Fafà Picault 70’), 25.Ryan Gauld ( 28.Levonte Johnson 90’)

Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 6.Tristan Blackmon, 19.Damir Kreilach, 45.Pedro Vite