The Vancouver Whitecaps travelled to San Diego with the goal of retaking the top spot in the Western Conference, but they came up short in a 1-1 draw.
Mathías Laborda’s shot was helped on by Manu Duah for the own goal to give the Whitecaps the deserved lead in the first half.
But San Diego’s continued dominance on the bar wore the visitors down as they tied late off a set piece.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen called it “a great match, two very good teams playing at a high level.”
“I think it was fun and stressful to watch,” he joked.
The Whitecaps came out of the gate flying, coming close to a goal in the first 20 seconds. Laborda, playing on the left, threaded a good forward pass into the run of Brian White.
The American striker rounded San Diego keeper Pablo Sisniega, who had come off his line, but he could not direct it into the net.
San Diego controlled large parts of the first half, but the Whitecaps were able to absorb the pressure and transition quickly.
But it was Vancouver who opened the scoring, getting the lead just before the half.
Édier Ocampo cut inside from the right and unleashed a shot that forced Sisniega into a diving save. Laborda jumped on the rebound and, with a deflection off San Diego centre-back Duah, gave the visitors the lead in the 40th minute.
San Diego came back in the second half, where they left off, dominating possession but struggling to create quality chances. The Whitecaps held defensively, finding their opportunities to get forward few and far between.
VAR had to intervene in the 65th minute over a potential handball against Andrés Cubas. However, referee Alexis Da Silva surprised everyone by not only denying a penalty after reviewing the play at the monitor, but also calling back the handball as well.
San Diego tied the match in the 80th minute. Ian Pilcher got his first goal for his club off a second-phase shot from a corner.
Daniel Ríos came off the bench and had a great chance to retake the win just before the whistle, but Sisniega came up big once again.
It was the final play of the match as the top two teams in the West ended the night exactly where they began.
“We played a very disciplined and well-structured game. And I think that it was just a game where it went back and forth, and we had our opportunities. We couldn’t really take them, but the player left everything on the pitch,” Sørensen said.
Whitecaps end their five-game road trip
Over five matches away from BC Place, the Whitecaps picked up seven points.
“It’s been up and down. Of course, we have to acknowledge that the team, the squad, has been really stressed and under pressure with not many available players. First, it was the Gold Cup with a lot of players out. Now, we said goodbye to Pedro [Vite], obviously. And having some injuries on top of that,” the head coach said.
Sørensen credited the players who may not get as much game time, who have stepped up over this period, in particular Bjørn Inge Utvik.
“It’s been a tough stretch with all the away games,” he said.
Up next
The Whitecaps have a week off as the MLS All-Star festivities take over. The club will be back in action on Saturday, July 26, against Sporting Kansas City at BC Place.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Notes
Ranko Veselinović was substituted off in the 33rd minute after pulling up earlier. At the moment of the apparent injury, he was seen holding his hamstring.
Sørensen said the player got “stuck in the pitch.”
