Having a full week off has not been kind to Vancouver Whitecaps this season. Travelling on rest to Austin FC, a club that played midweek, the Blue-and-White were lacklustre in a 0-0 performance.
The Whitecaps managed only two shots on target (five in total), both late in the second half. In contrast, the home side had four on target and 15 in total.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen did not mince words describing what he saw.
“Our worst performance this season, no doubt about that,” he said. “[We] played without quality on the ball; the technical quality was too low.”
It was a strong starting XI, one that on any other day would be expected to get the match over the line.
Ali Ahmed, who made all the difference in the second half last weekend against LAFC, got the nod for this one. Emmanuel Sabbi took his position on the opposite wing.
Sørensen was also gifted with having Mathías Laborda back. Both Laborda and Sam Adekugbe started on the bench, but together with Tate Johnson and Édier Ocampo, the options in the backline looked much better.
Not wanting a repeat of the 5-1 demolition the Whitecaps handed them, Austin came out in the first half as the team looking like they had something to prove.
Osman Bukari found himself in decent positions throughout the half. In the dying seconds of the half, the attacker thought he had Austin up by one, but the goal was called offside.
“I think that our opponents really came at us,” Sørensen said. “We made some horrible mistakes on the way up with the ball, which turned into a transition and pushed us downwards.”
Yohei Takaoka was called on a couple of times as headed balls threatened to find their way behind him, but the Whitecaps’ keeper was well-positioned and strong in his shot-stopping.
The second half saw Laborda and Adekugbe enter the match. Johnson, routinely the target of Austin’s attack, came out with a sore shoulder suffered in the previous match. Ocampo was on a yellow card and was subbed for safety.
However, both showed their rust in coming back from injury.
It was not until the 73rd minute that the Whitecaps had a shot on Brad Stuver, a header from Brian White’s header off of a Tristan Blackmon long throw was simple for Austin’s keeper to handle.
Sebastian Berhalter had an effort a few minutes later, but it was from outside the 18-yard box and directly into the hands of the keeper.
But at the other end of the pitch, Takaoka was giving the Whitecaps lifeline after lifeline.
Perhaps the best of these was his save off Bukari in the 83rd minute. The Austin attacker dropped his shoulder to get around Laborda, giving himself a solid opportunity. But the Japanese goalkeeper was strong all night and had to work for his eventual clean sheet.
Takaoka continues to shine
The Whitecaps’ goalkeeper has had his share of critics throughout his tenure in goal, but this season, he has silenced many of his detractors.
So far in MLS in 2025, Takaoka has posted a 75 save percentage, significantly higher than his 68.2 per cent last season.
“It hasn’t been custom that we’ve had to rely on him to get a point. But the last couple of games, he’s made big saves, especially later in the game,” Sørensen said of his keeper.
The team’s overall goals against over 90 minutes have dropped too. They have recorded a 0.77 over 13 MLS matches so far. Last season, they had 0.83.
Takaoka now has six clean sheets in MLS this season.
Up next
The Whitecaps are back to having a midweek match as they become the final club to enter the Canadian Championship.
They will play the first leg of the quarter-final against Valour FC in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 20.
Kick off is at 5:30 p.m. PT.
