Sometimes, everything just clicks.
For the Vancouver Whitecaps, that was tonight as they routed the LA Galaxy in a convincing 3-0 win at BC Place.
Brian White opened the scoring in the first half, while Ryan Gauld and Bruno Caicedo added to the tally in the second.
Whitecaps head coach Sørensen was happy with the performance, crediting the minimal number of chances the opposition had throughout the match.
“We had to make some early substitutions, and I think all in all, the team played a good game today,” Sørensen said. “It was good.”
The Whitecaps came out of the gate hungry and hunting. Early strikes from White and Emmanuel Sabbi tested JT Marcinkowski, but the Galaxy keeper looked good in the opening minutes of the match.
But the visitors were unable to withstand the pressure. A throw-in from Gauld in the 9th minute was played on by Thomas Müller to White, giving the Whitecaps the early lead.
Müller’s mid-air pass cheekily bounced off White’s shoulder and over his head to his foot. With one touch to control, his second put the ball past Marcinkowski for his 14th in MLS and 15th in all competitions.
As the first half matured, the Galaxy grew into the match. Yohei Takaoka had to come up big for saves against Robert Taylor and Kyogo Furuhashi as the Whitecaps got hemmed in their half.
The situation became increasingly difficult as Müller was forced off with an apparent thigh injury in the 27th minute.
Cheikh Sabaly replaced the German and did well with a couple of good runs into the 18-yard box. However, his final touch betrayed him as the Senegalese player found himself struggling in the decision to shoot or pass, something that has plagued his game as of late.
The Whitecaps looked to regain the momentum in the second half. Gauld came close to adding another goal to the tally in the 49th minute with an excellent header off of Edier Ocampo’s cross, but Marcinkowsky stretched far to get fingertips on the ball.
But Gauld persisted and got his goal in the 57th minute off a poor giveaway by Jakob Glesnes.
Gauld picked off the errant pass just outside the 18-yard box, dribbled past Erik Thommy and into Galaxy defensive traffic. But the Whitecaps’ captain kep this feet and hit the low shot past Marcinkowski.
The goal also marked Gauld passing the 50 goals and 50 assists mark as a Whitecaps player. He is the only player to do so for the Whitecaps in the MLS era.
Caicedo added a third goal in stoppage time after Rayan Elloumi was brought down in the 18-yard box and a penalty was awarded.
The Ecuadorian’s shot was initially saved, but the power of the ball was enough to carry it over the goal line before it bounced out.
It was an emphatic second-half performance which maintained the club’s top position in the Western Conference, three points above Houston Dynamo.
Gauld passes the 50/50 mark for Whitecaps
Gauld’s goal tonight was his 50th for the club. He is now the first Whitecaps player to achieve 50 goals and 50 assists for the club in the MLS era.
Sørensen congratulated his captain, calling it “a great feat.”
“In my time [with the Whitecaps], I have been a little bit unfortunate, not having him available for us for that much time,” the head coach said. “But now he is, and everybody can see what he contributes and how he contributes to the team with the great mentality.”
Sørensen touted Gauld’s work ethic and passion for competing as qualities that mark him above many others.
For his part, Gauld downplayed the landmark.
“Nice to get the goal. Personally, I don’t look too much into scoring the 50th or anything. But it was nice to get the goal,” he said.
Gauld’s recent injury history is well-known. He missed over a season of play before coming back to full form.
Gauld said he feels back to top fitness, but mentioned he was surprised at how long it took.
“It’s obviously frustrating when I came back and wanted to hit the ground running,” Gauld said. “Kind of expected things to just be the way they were beforehand, but I think you can clearly see it took quite a few games to get back to a decent match fitness and playing at a good level on and off the ball.”
Up next
Austin FC come to Vancouver to take on the Whitecaps this Sunday, Sept. 13.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.
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