- Saturday's match was the fourth time this season that a crowd of over 24,000 came to BC Place, and the third match in a row. Dating back to the end of last season, it was also the seventh straight crowd over 22,000
- Brian White scored his third goal of the season. With 42 goals for the 'Caps in all competitions, he is now only one goal behind Camilo Sanvezzo for the most goals scored for Whitecaps FC in the MLS era
- With his assist, Ryan Gauld recorded a goal contribution for a fourth straight match (2 goals, 2 assists)
VANCOUVER, BC – On a cool April evening, Vancouver Whitecaps FC put in a big second half, but ultimately succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles Galaxy in what was a thrilling match in front of 25,026 fans at BC Place.
The match pitted the top two sides in the Western Conference standings, with the Galaxy moving into first place with the result and the 'Caps now in second.
It was an end-to-end start to the game. Gabriel Pec forced Yohei Takaoka into a full-stretch stop inside 10 minutes, cutting inside and unleashing a lethal curling effort.
Brian White nearly got the opener just inside half an hour, latching onto a beautifully over the top floated ball by Ryan Gauld, but his low strike at full sprint just went a whisker wide.
At the other end of the pitch, Joseph Paintsil was a threat all night long for the visitors. On 37 minutes, the Ghanaian tried to get the better of Takaoka while picking the ball up on the right, but his quick turn shot was dragged wide of the Japanese keeper's net.
Despite a scoreless first half, the match opened up in the second half.
The Galaxy had the first chance, as Pec managed to rise above everyone else and head an effort against the crossbar, with Delgado’s follow-up shot pulled wide.
White then had another big chance to break the deadlock, being put in behind one-on-one on John McCarthy, but the Galaxy keeper denied the striker from point-blank.
Soon after that chance, the Galaxy came back the other way to open the scoring on the break. Takaoka came up with another big save to deny Pec inside the box, but it would fall for Dejan Joveljić to tap it into an open net.
Minutes later, White was back threating the Galaxy goal. The American almost caught McCarthy out in the 60th minute, dispossessing the keeper through some intense pressing, but was unable to slide it past him to level the match.
Alessandro Schöpf then forced McCarthy into another snap save as his volley inside the box almost nestled into the side-netting.
White would finally get his goal after 77 minutes, powering a header from a Gauld corner to tie the match 1-1.
The drama was not done though. LA would hit back moments later, with Puig threading a ball through in behind for Paintsil to run on to and tuck home for the 2-1 lead.
The Galaxy would make it three goals two minutes later, with Paintsil sprinting down the right side and driving it across goal for substitute Diego Fagúndez to tap in.
Damir Kreilach, coming off the bench, had three close chances to nearly halve the deficit. First, in the 89th minute, the Croatian forced McCarthy into two good saves in quick succession. Then, in the dying moments of the match, Kreilach had the goal at his mercy to make it 3-2, but couldn’t direct his effort on target, meaning the Galaxy would keep their two-goal advantage to the final whistle.
Whitecaps FC are back in action on the road, as they travel for another Cascadia derby against Seattle Sounders FC next Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. PT, available to watch on Apple TV+ MLS Season Pass and TSN, and to listen to on AM730 radio.
The ‘Caps come back home on May 4, where they face Austin FC in the club's 50th Anniversary Celebration Match at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Ryan Gauld
Attendance: 25,026
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Scoring Summary
57’ – LAG – Dejan Joveljić
77’ – VAN – Brian White (Ryan Gauld)
80’ – LAG – Joseph Paintsil (Riqui Puig)
82’ – LAG – Diego Fagúndez (Joseph Paintsil, Riqui Puig)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 41.9% - LAG 58.1%
Shots: VAN 18 - LAG 12
Shots on Goal: VAN 7 - LAG 5
Saves: VAN 2 - LAG 6
Fouls: VAN 8 - LAG 8
Offsides: VAN 0 - LAG 1
Corners: VAN 10 - LAG 7
Cautions
20’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
25’ – LAG – Miki Yamane
45’+2 – VAN – Ranko Veselinović
54’ – VAN – Ali Ahmed
85’ – VAN – Brian White
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 2.MathÃas Laborda, 4.Ranko Veselinović (28.Levonte Johnson 84’), 6.Tristan Blackmon; 7.Ryan Raposo (3.Sam Adekugbe 45’), 20.Andrés Cubas (19.Damir Kreilach 85’), 8.Alessandro Schöpf (16.Sebastian Berhalter 84’), 22.Ali Ahmed; 25.Ryan Gauld ©, 24.Brian White, 11.Fafà Picault (45.Pedro Vite 16’)
Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 13.Ralph Priso, 14.Luis Martins, 23.Javain Brown
Los Angeles Galaxy
77.John McCarthy; 2.Miki Yamane (19.Mauricio Cuevas 86’), 4.Maya Yoshida, 22.MartÃn Cáceres, 3.Julian Aude; 8.Marky Delgado (37.Daniel Aguirre 86’), 5.Gastón Brugman (20.Edwin Cerrillo 74’), 10.Riqui Puig; 11.Gabriel Pec (7.Diego Fagúndez 74’), 9.Dejan Joveljić (27.Miguel Berry 78’), 28.Joseph Paintsil
Substitutes not used
35.Novak Micovic, 14.John Nelson, 18.Jonathan Pérez, 30.Gino Vivi
