CINCINNATI, OH – A heavily shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps FC side battled to a resilient 2-2 draw against FC Cincinnati on the road at TQL Stadium on Wednesday.
Cincinnati opened the scoring early when Álvaro Barreal dribbled into the box and finished low for a 1-0 lead.
But the 'Caps responded quickly. A cross in from Ryan Raposo was brought down by Cristian Dájome and centred for a tap in by Ryan Gauld to make it 1-1 after five minutes.
The 'Caps then had a good spell and nearly took the lead. After a corner kick turned into a scramble in the box, Lucas Cavallini struck a thunderous shot that was barely tipped by Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano before ringing the crossbar.
The home side would be next to score though. Brazilian striker Brenner broke forward quickly and recorded his second assist of the match when he set up fellow striker Brandon Vázquez for a low finish and a 2-1 lead in the 23rd minute.
10 minutes before halftime there was big collision in the Whitecaps FC box between Javain Brown and Cody Cropper. Brown was subsequently replaced by Jake Nerwinski with a concussion substitution. Cropper was further evaluated at halftime and subbed off on a concussion substitution. Homegrown goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer entered the match, with the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy product making his MLS debut.
Boehmer came up with a big save in the 73rd minute, stopping a free kick whipped in by Barreal.
A good chance for the 'Caps came in the 78th minute. Michael Baldisimo played a great ball forward for Gauld, who then fed Brian White with his low shot rolling agonizingly wide of the far post.
Boehmer came up with another big save, stopping Sérgio Santos in the 82nd minute. That play would prove crucial as moments later the 'Caps would equalize. Gauld fed Tosaint Ricketts down the right, who centred perfectly for Dájome to finish and make it 2-2.
Boehmer would come up with one more massive save, perhaps his biggest of the match, stopping a difficult header off the turf in the 85th minute.
With raining pouring down to end the match, the final whistle blew and the 'Caps picked up another vital point on the road.
Next up for Whitecaps FC is a Sunday road match against Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT on TSN and AM730 Radio.
Following that match the 'Caps return for two huge home matches. First up, the club will host their ninth annual Pride Match on Saturday, July 23 against Chicago Fire FC. Vancouver will then play Toronto FC in the 2022 Canadian Championship Final against Toronto FC at BC Place. Tickets for both matches are available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Cristian Dájome
Attendance: 21,078
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Scoring Summary
3’ – CIN – Álvaro Barreal (Brenner)
5’ – VAN – Ryan Gauld (Cristian Dájome, Ryan Raposo)
23’ – CIN – Brandon Vázquez (Brenner)
82' – VAN – Cristian Dájome (Tosaint Ricketts, Ryan Gauld)
Statistics
Possession: CIN 62% – VAN 39%
Shots: CIN 15 – VAN 11
Shots on Goal: CIN 7 – VAN 4
Saves: CIN 2 – VAN 5
Fouls: CIN 11 – VAN 6
Offsides: CIN 1 – VAN 2
Corners: CIN 7 – VAN 4
Cautions
38' – VAN – Russell Teibert
52' – CIN – Obinna Nwobodo
58' – CIN – Tyler Blackett
90'+3 – VAN – Ryan Gauld
FC Cincinnati
18.Roman Celentano; 4.Nick Hagglund, 20.Geoff Cameron (32.Ian Murphy 86'), 24.Tyler Blackett; 28.Ray Gaddis, 5.Obinna Nwobodo, 7.Yuya Kubo (6.Haris Medunjanin 80'), 3.John Nelson ; 31. Álvaro Barreal; 19.Brandon Vázquez (11.Sérgio Santos 74'), 9.Brenner
Substitutes not used
25.Kenneth Vermeer, 16.Zico Bailey, 23.Isaac Atanga, 29. Arquimides Ordoñez, 33.Nick Markanich, 35.Harrison Robledo
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
55.Cody Cropper (60.Isaac Boehmer HT); 23.Javain Brown (28.Jake Nerwinski 36'), 22.Érik Godoy (33.Michael Baldisimo 64'), 6.Tristan Blackmon; 27.Ryan Raposo, 31.Russell Teibert © (8.Caio Alexandre 81'), 26.Florian Jungwirth, 11.Cristian Dájome; 45.Pedro Vite (24.Brian White 59'), 25.Ryan Gauld; 9.Lucas Cavallini (87.Tosaint Ricketts 81')
Substitutes not used
44.Chris Lee, 61.Matteo Campagna
