VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC defeated Cascadia rival and reigning MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 on Friday night in front of a crowd of 22,120 at BC Place.
Here’s how they did it.
MONTERO THE MAN
As Carl Robinson said after the match, this was “Fredy’s day.”
All the talk heading into Friday was about Fredy Montero, who of course spent four seasons with the Sounders and remains their all-time leading goalscorer.
And all the talk after the game was about him, too.
Montero was the hero, scoring twice in his first match against his former team to lead the ‘Caps to victory. And he scored both goals in similar fashion, finishing with a pair of headers after creating a little space for himself in the box. That’s what you call clinical.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Montero is all about.
He’s not a player who you’ll notice a whole lot over the course of 90 minutes. He’s smart with his movement though, and more often than not, he’ll finish the chances he’s given.
Montero made a point not to celebrate either of his goals on Friday, out of respect for the Sounders organization and fan base. You could see what the goals meant to him though – seriously, do yourself a favour and watch this slow motion video of his first goal and celebration.
And, as he did all week, Montero made it clear in his post-match interview that he’s all in with Vancouver now. Asked again about Sounders FC midfielder Brad Evans’ comments from earlier in the year, Montero responded: “Who? I play for Vancouver Whitecaps. I don’t want to make any comments about that. I’m thankful for the support from the fans here in Vancouver. Hopefully we can give them more goals and more points at home.”
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
Montero obviously made the headlines, and rightfully so, but there were a number of standout performances from the ‘Caps on Friday. David Ousted came up with some key saves, Matias Laba and Russell Teibert put in a shift defensively, and Christian Bolaños and Cristian Techera were buzzing once again (more on that later).
But how about the play of Vancouver’s centre backs?
As they have been for most of this season, Tim Parker and Kendall Waston were immense on Friday night, preventing Sounders FC striker Jordan Morris from attempting a single shot. Waston led the way with a game-high 12 clearances, which adds to his league-leading tally of 52 clearances in five matches (12 more than the next closest player).
As you can see below, Waston saved the day on a few occasions in this one.
That last block came in stoppage time on what was essentially the last kick of the game. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Parker knows all about that too. He's just making it look easy so far in 2017.
The 24-year-old American now leads Whitecaps FC with 17 interceptions through five matches this season, which has him among the top 10 in MLS. That’s an average of 3.4 interceptions per game, a healthy increase from last season (1.72 interceptions per game).
Sometimes, the numbers just don’t lie.
BIG CHRISTIAN, LITTLE CRISTIAN
Opta credited Vancouver for creating 10 chances on Friday. And eight of them came through Bolaños and Techera – also known as “big Christian” and “little Cristian,” according to Montero.
Techera’s service from the flanks was absolutely spot on all night – even before he set up Montero’s first goal. In the first half, he also set up Alphonso Davies and Bolaños with pinpoint crosses from the left. This was the second weekend in a row that Techera was one of the best players on the park, and the same could be said for Bolaños, who created a game-high five chances. Bolaños, in fact, only missed four passes all night, as you can see below.
yellow = chance created
Big Christian and little Cristian each picked up their first assists of the season on Friday. Something tells me there are many more to come.
