- Whitecaps FC (7 points) remain in the lead in the Cascadia Cup standings over Seattle Sounders FC (4 points) and Portland Timbers (3 points)
- Vanni Sartini coached his 100th MLS match
- Giuseppe Bovalina made his first MLS start
PORTLAND, OR – It was a fiery Pacific Northwest clash at Providence Park, as Vancouver Whitecaps FC suffered a first Cascadia Cup defeat this season in a 2-0 loss to Portland Timbers on Saturday evening.
The match began with both sides vying for control in the early stages. Giuseppe Bovalina had the first look on goal, getting on the end of a switch by Sebastian Berhalter and smashing a volley wide of the mark. Minutes later, Berhalter provided another beautiful opportunity, whipping a cross for Fafa Picault at the back post but the Haitian international's effort looped over the crossbar.
Javain Brown then came in with a huge block in the 20th minute, putting his body on the line to deny Evander a certain goal. But despite some heavy pressure from the ‘Caps, it was Portland that struck against the run of play. Evander picked out Jonathan RodrÃguez on the left, and the winger slotted it past Yohei Takaoka, who managed to get a hand on it before going in.
Takaoka was called into action once more just before the half, denying Felipe Mora from a point-blank header in the middle of the box. Unfortunately, the Japanese ‘keeper was unable to deny Mora in the 43rd minute, as he was played into space by Moreno and flashed a shot into the bottom left corner for 2-0.
With work to do in the second half, the 'Caps went down a man as Alessandro Schöpf was shown a second yellow card in the 52nd minute.
The ‘Caps would mount pressure throughout the second half, but were unable to find a goal. In the last 10 minutes of the match, the 'Caps threw caution to the wind, sending wave after wave of attacks on the Portland defence.
Whitecaps FC kept fighting until the very end, but ultimately ended with their first defeat in four Cascadia matches this season.
The 'Caps are back in action at BC Place next Saturday, June 29 as they face St. Louis CITY SC at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Sebastian Berhalter
Attendance: 22,471
Referee: Ted Unkel
Scoring Summary
26’ – POR – Jonathan RodrÃguez (Evander, Felipe Mora)
43’ – POR – Felipe Mora (Santiago Moreno)
Statistics
Possession: POR 57.8% - VAN 42.2%
Shots: POR 13 - VAN 7
Shots on Goal: POR 7 - VAN 1
Saves: POR 1 - VAN 5
Fouls: POR 11 - VAN 11
Offsides: POR 1 - VAN 4
Corners: POR 1 - VAN 4
Cautions
34’ – VAN – Alessandro Schöpf
39’ – VAN – Tristan Blackmon
52’ – VAN – Alessandro Schöpf
55’ – POR – David Ayala
60’ – VAN – Sebastian Berhalter
73' – VAN – Brendan Shaw (assistant coach)
90’+1 – VAN – LuÃs Martins
Ejection52’ – VAN – Alessandro Schöpf
Portland Timbers
41.James Pantemis; 29.Juan Mosquera, 18.Zac McGraw, 13.Dario Župarić, 5.Claudio Bravo; 21.Diego Chará, 24.David Ayala (22.Cristhian Paredes 64’); 30.Santiago Moreno (27.Dairon Asprilla 87’), 10.Evander (19.Eryk Williamson 87’), 14.Jonathan RodrÃguez (99.Nathan Fogaça 87’); 9.Felipe Mora (11.Antony 77’)
Substitutes not used
25.Trey Muse, 15.Eric Miller, 33.Larrys Mabiala
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 23.Javain Brown (14.LuÃs Martins 64’), 4.Ranko Veselinović, 6.Tristan Blackmon; 2.MathÃas Laborda (28.Levonte Johnson 77’); 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 45.Pedro Vite, 8.Alessandro Schöpf, 27.Giuseppe Bovalina (7.Ryan Raposo HT); 11.Fafa Picault (24.Brian White HT) (19.Damir Kreilach 73’), 25.Ryan Gauld ©
Substitutes not used
17.Joe Bendik, 32.Isaac Boehmer, 13.Ralph Priso, 15.Bjørn Inge Utvik
