The Vancouver Whitecaps headed south to Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Sounders.
Games between these two are usually exciting and heated. After all, most Cascadia games are, especially between Vancouver and Seattle. Lumen Field was also a tough place for any visitor to play, as the Sounders have lost only one MLS game at home.
For the Whitecaps, there was a chance to win the Cascadia Cup and make up ground in the Western Conference and Supporters Shield race.
This game was definitely exciting and heated, just like a Cascadia match should be.
First-half: A physical chess match
This was a battle. Both teams were cautious. However, Vancouver was more composed, and Seattle was quicker and calculated with their press. If you expected quick transitions in the first half, you were in for disappointment. Both sides prevented each other from going on the quick transitions.
It was the Whitecaps who had the better chances. Ali Ahmed and Tate Johnson caused problems for Seattle’s left side. Thomas Müller used his soccer IQ to create opportunities, connecting with Emmanuel Sabbi, though his finishing let him down. That summed up Vancouver’s first-half attack: good buildup, lacking the final touch.
For the Sounders, they lost two key guys early. Alex Roldan and Yeimar Gómez Andrade went down with injuries and had to be taken out. That was two big pieces of the Sounders back line. The Whitecaps had to take advantage.
Speaking of defence, Vancouver was without Belal Halbouni as he was out with a right hip contusion. He is day-to-day but did make the trip down to Lumen Field. As a result, Ralph Priso slotted in as a centre-back with Mathias Laborda. Both did a good job of keeping Jordan Morris quiet.
This half had turnovers, hard tackles, and some calls that could make someone say, “Are you sure about that?” Both teams were playing a chess match and were waiting to put their opponent in check and eventually, checkmate.
Second-half: Back and Forth Chaos
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen wasted no time making a substitute. Daniel Rios was taken off for Brian White to give the attack some boost, like how Skittles apparently made Marshawn Lynch run faster.
This game opened up quickly. White came on and smelled blood like a Great White Shark. But it was Andres Cubas who won the ball and found Müller, and White easily beat Stefan Frei on the breakaway.
But it didn’t last long. Two minutes later, Jackson Ragen got high up on Laborda and headed in the corner kick.
About two minutes after that, the Whitecaps were caught swimming on the transition. Albert Rusnak pounced on the ball and put it past Yohei Takaoka. Just poor defending from Vancouver here. In the blink of an eye, the Sounders had the lead. Boy, that escalated quickly.
This author didn’t even finish his Tweet about White’s goal when Seattle took the lead.
Sørensen decided to make some more attacking changes. Müller and Sabbi were taken off for Jayden Nelson and Sebastian Berhalter.
As a result, Vancouver was locking in. Laborda got jumped over by Ragan earlier, and he gave him a taste of his own medicine with a jumping headed goal on his own. In the last few games, Laborda has connected well with Berhalter’s corner kicks. This was a perfect jump and header from the Uruguayan. If Laborda was going to catch a flight, it was going to be direct. And he sure did here.
The two teams tried to battle like the two village factions in Yojimbo. Takaoka made a point-blank save on Alex Roldan, and Cubas blasted one over the bar.
The Whitecaps’ injury crisis wouldn’t stop hurting them. White had to be taken off in the 78th minute for Rayan Elloumi, as it looked like he hurt his hamstring again. This team can’t catch a break. If only there were an option to turn off injuries like in the EAFC games.
The Sounders continued to push for a winner as well. Priso managed to make a goal-line clearance late in the game, but there was no foul on Takaoka for being pushed for some reason.
Vancouver was pushing for a late winner, but Frei and the Seattle defence prevented them from getting an additional two points. Given the number of injuries and how tough it is for visiting teams to win at Lumen Field, a draw is fine for the Whitecaps. Overall, the Whitecaps gave a solid, hard-fought performance. Other than the final third being not sharp and conceding the two goals, there was a lot to like.
As a result, the Whitecaps clinched their eighth Cascadia Cup. That is a record. So there is that at least.
Sure, it really doesn’t count as an official trophy, but the Cascadia Cup is great for the club and the fans.
What was said
“I think it was a great game,” said Sørensen to the media after the match. “Good moments from both sides, it was exciting, it was stressful coaching, but on the other hand it was a great game to watch…It was a very good game from both sides.”
“I think our pressure was very good today. We stole a lot of balls high up the pitch. Then, we got a good goal but didn’t take advantage of being ahead… (but) I think the team is confident and doesn’t give up, and I think we got a great response on the adversity…we wanted to push all the way through.
The Whitecaps manager spoke highly of Priso’s performance.
“Great, really great, we worked with him in training because we learned anything can happen,” said Sørensen on his midfielder turned centre-back.”He was good with the duels, and he got better with the ball…he was excellent.”
Priso also spoke to the media after the match.
“It was fine,” he said when asked about playing as a CB. “Jesper and (Assistant coach) Jan (Michaelsen) and the coaches kind of prepared me in case of an emergency, and then the emergency happened. I think I was ready for it. I was kind of taking reps as a centre-back in training for a while now. So, I was not worried about anything, but it was kind of a weird feeling because you are seeing the field a different way, but I thought I did OK.”
Sørensen said White’s injury probably wasn’t as serious as his last one, but he had to be taken off because he felt something in his hamstring. However, the team will evaluate White in the coming days.
Stat of the match
Expected goals were low and close in this game. According to FotMob, Seattle edged out Vancouver on xG 0.83 to 0.80.
Tweet of the match
The Sounders losing Roldan and Yeimar early does give reminders of the Whitecaps injury crisis. The NHL has a stat called “man-games lost,” which measures the total count of games missed by players due to injuries. If MLS had a man-games lost stat, the Whitecaps would definitely lead the league by a country mile.
Wrap-up
So what does result mean?
Well, it seems the Supporters Shield is very unlikely for the Whitecaps now. With the Philadelphia Union beating DC United 6-0 (!) , they lead the race with 63 points. That is six points ahead of Vancouver and five points ahead of second-place Cincinnati.
But with a game in hand, the Whitecaps are still in the race for first place in the Western Conference. Vancouver got some help on the out-of-town scoreboard as San Diego FC lost 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes, and Minnesota United drew 1-1 to the Colorado Rapids. The Whitecaps and San Diego both have 57 points, but the latter leads due to having more wins. Minnesota is two points back with 55.
The Whitecaps will look to win another piece of silverware as they face Vancouver FC in the Canadian Championship final for an all-Lower Mainland affair. They will look to win their fourth straight Voyageurs Cup. No team in the modern era has done that. It all goes down on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm Pacific.
After that, the Whitecaps host the Earthquakes next Sunday. Note the start time as that game kicks off at 3:00 pm Pacific. Yet, another big week ahead for the ‘Caps.
