After a quick Leagues Cup exit, the Vancouver Whitecaps were back in MLS.
They went down the I-5 to take on their Cascadia rivals, the Seattle Sounders. Vancouver were the reigning Cascadia Cup champions heading into Sunday night, and all they needed was a draw to retain it officially.
Vancouver has struggled since the World Cup break, with its only win a 4-1 victory at Swangard Stadium over Cavalry in the first leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinals. In MLS, it has drawn two and lost one since the World Cup break. The Whitecaps also lost all their Leagues Cup games, with the last one against Tigres going to penalties.
The Sounders have had their struggles too. Still, they did win in Leagues Cup with a 3-0 victory over Queretaro. But Seattle then lost 2-1 to Chivas and were eliminated from Leagues Cup. Seattle have not won in MLS since May 13, when they beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 at home.
Heading into Sunday night, Seattle were the second-lowest scoring team in MLS with just 20 goals in 17 games. Meanwhile, Vancouver was tied for fourth with 38 goals in 17 games. This was also the matchup between two of the best defensive teams in MLS. The Whitecaps have given up 17 goals, and that is the second-lowest in MLS. The Sounders have given up just 22 goals, and that was the fourth-lowest in MLS.
Both teams were also dealing with numerous injuries. Vancouver was without Brian White, Bruno Caicedo, Kenji Cabrera and Ranko Veselinovic among others. Seattle was missing key players such as Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega, Cristian Roldan and Yeimar Gomez Andrade.
Lumen Field is one of the toughest places for any team in MLS. The Whitecaps had to get back to their fundamentals. It’s safe to say they did and they silenced the Seattle crowd.
First half: Sleepy half
The Sounders controlled possession early. But they had trouble winning the ball in the Whitecaps half. Vancouver also were solid at breaking up the through balls from Seattle. Ralph Priso and Mathias Laborda were doing a good job cutting down the passing lanes as the centre-backs.
Less than 15 minutes in, there was some concern for Jeevan Badwal. The 20-year-old collided with Nouhou when going for the ball. It looked like Nouhou’s arm hit the back of Badwal’s head. Badwal got up but went back down and had to come off. He was taken off for Rayan Elloumi, and Emmanuel Sabbi switched back from striker to right wing. It was a concussion sub, but this was not ideal for Vancouver, who were already dealing with a ton of injuries as mentioned.
Andres Cubas was once again everywhere. He was forcing Seattle to turn the ball over when they started their counterattack. The Paraguayan international was helping the Whitecaps with their build-up. The men in blue were starting to take control of the game, and Cubas was the starting point. But the Whitecaps couldn’t get that scoring chance.
The ‘Caps nearly survived a scare as the Sounders decided to beat them at their own game by pressing. Synder Brunell pressed and won the ball but hit the side netting.
The Whitecaps were also inches from opening the scoring. Thomas Müller, as he has done throughout his illustrious career, found space in the box on Oliver Larraz’s corner kick. The Raumdeuter struck with the half-volley, but Paul Rothrock was there at the goal line to block it. The ball almost went off Rothrock and Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas and in. Müller was that close.
That was the best chance of the first half for either side. Cubas and Oliver Larraz were also doing a great job of shutting down the Seattle transitions before they crossed midfield.
If you like defence, that was the half for you. But both the Whitecaps and Sounders needed more from their offence. That half felt like watching a chess documentary at times.
Second half: Whitecaps break the deadlock
Vancouver started the half more or less the same way they were playing in the first. They were controlling possession but not quick in the final third. Müller had a shot go right to Thomas, and Cheikh Sabaly nearly danced his way among the Sounders defenders but lost the ball at the last second. That was in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Seattle still was having trouble with their attack as well. They completely fumbled a counter-attack when Rothrock and Albert Rusnak were speeding into the box. Danny Muskovski was also with them, but none of them could test Yohei Takaoka. That summed up the Sounders scoring woes.
The Whitecaps knew they had to take advantage. Ryan Gauld came on for Sabaly in the 58th minute. Gauld and Müller have not played together much and needed to get onto the same page.
The ‘Caps looked much quicker and fluid with Gauld on the pitch. He was also timing his runs perfectly. With The Flying Scotsman on, the Whitecaps looked way hungrier than earlier. However, Seattle’s stingy defence was doing their job. They were bending but were breaking.
Vancouver finally broke through in the 77th minute. Elloumi has been snake-bitten all season and needed a goal for confidence. Sabbi made a great run down the pitch, and Elloumi was in a big island of space. The Tunisian international made no mistake, beating Thomas. Elloumi needed that and so did his team.
Just a few minutes later, Nouhou and Thomas got confused. Nouhou was calling for Thomas to come out and take it, but the goalkeeper hesitated, and instead he picked up Nouhou’s back pass with his hands. That is not allowed. As a result, the Whitecaps had an indirect free kick. Larraz gave a quick pass, and then Müller finished it. For some reason, Thomas decided to stand behind the wall instead of covering the open area behind the left post. Müller made him pay for his mistake.
That was all she wrote. The Whitecaps came alive in the second half and sent their 300+ traveling fans home happy. The ‘Caps also have repeated as Cascadia Cup champions. A big win indeed.
Stat of the match
The Whitecaps held Seattle to just five shots, and none were on target.
What was said
“We’re very happy to have the Cascadia Cup and bring it back home and keep it for another year,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen after the game. “I think that’s great. We’re so happy for all the support we get. The support for the team just keeps growing and getting stronger.”
He also spoke about the way his team played in the win and how they are looking like their usual selves.
“It’s the way we like to approach the game,” said Sørensen. “Passing the ball fast and moving the ball fast on the pitch and being attacking-minded. The pitch here was very fast, so from the beginning the players had difficulties really controlling the ball…It’s the style of play that has given us what we have done over the last year and a half. I still think we just lack a little bit of precision in the way we move the ball. Also, I think our positioning has to be a little bit better. But overall, I think we settled onto the pitch for 25 minutes and found better flow, and I think we had good control.”
Sørensen also spoke about Elloumi finally scoring in MLS.
“It was important for Rayan, and it was important for us,” he said. “He has not really had that break that we expected and hoped for, and the same for him. He’s a very young player, and he’s already experienced a lot, but that puts some extra pressure on him. He puts a little bit of extra pressure on himself. We see him every day in training, and we have confidence that he is a big talent. But of course, it’s been tough for him, because he’s a striker; you always get measured by your goals. You also don’t really have that flow you hoped for, but I know he’s got that goal, and I would say give him a chance like that and putting it in the back of the net with quality and confidence, I was happy to see it.”
Elloumi also spoke to the media.
“I’ve always been that type of player to have high expectations of myself,” he said. “Any stretch you have with a drought or low period, you can put a lot of stress on yourself. I think especially as a young guy, that’s a trap I can fall into. I feel like I had a lot of great support, not only from my teammates but from my family back home and coaches as well. I would call some coaches back in Edmonton, and they would give me advice for hours. It was an emotional feeling getting that goal, and God knows how much I wanted that. It feels like a weight off my shoulders.”
Tweet of the match
The Whitecaps and Sounders fans may be rivals off the pitch, but it’s still nice to see the solidarity from the Seattle fans.
Wrap-up
With the win, the Whitecaps leapfrogged the Houston Dynamo for top spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver’s 37 points are just two ahead of Houston.
Speaking of Houston, that is who the Whitecaps play next. They battle at BC Place on Wednesday at 7:30 pm Pacific. This will be a fight for top spot in the wild, wild west.
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