Whitecaps 2, Sounders 0: 'Candy, candy' victory for Vancouver over their Cascadia rivals

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Transferring some bins in his basement this weekend, Ryan Gauld got here throughout his outdated boots from the 2021 season. He snapped a photograph and texted it to striker Brian White.

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“I stated ‘We’ll run it again to 2021 after we had been each scoring,’” stated the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder, throwing again to his first yr with the staff the place he and White mixed for 20 objectives and 11 assists in lower than a full season.

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Mission achieved. Form of.

Gauld and White ran the Seattle Sounders into the bottom Saturday evening at B.C. Place, even when neither factored (formally) on the scoresheet, in a dominating 2-0 victory.

They won’t have recaptured the magic of 2021, however they did invoke another historic historical past. July 6, 2013 was the final time the Caps beat Seattle by 2-0 rating. And Saturday was additionally simply the fifth house win in MLS historical past over the Sounders.

Head coach Vanni Sartini didn’t know concerning the cleats, however he noticed Gauld’s efficiency as magical, simply the identical.

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“General, I believe it was Ryan’s greatest efficiency of the season,” he stated. “So I hope that any longer, it’s going to be the Ryan that we all know and it’s going to be constant at this stage of efficiency.”

Coming into Saturday’s recreation, the Caps had been licking their wounds after two straight losses. All they wanted to do to really feel higher was do away with some Gang Inexperienced.

A uncommon purpose by Pedro Vite and a surgical strike-turned-own purpose by Gauld took down the Sounders, who had been the first-place staff coming into the evening.

The 19,108 introduced followers in attendance at B.C. Place watched the Caps (4-4-5, seventh West) smother Seattle defensively and hand their Cascadia Cup rivals a second straight loss. The Sounders (7-5-2) had been then bounced out of first place simply minutes after the ultimate whistle, with Carlos Vela scoring a ninety fifth minute penalty to raise LAFC previous San Jose 2-1 and atop the West standings.

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“Incredible efficiency, incredible victory,” stated Sartini. “We beat — we smashed — the most effective staff within the Western Convention (other than) LAFC. It reminded us how good we’re after we are doing the issues that we’re purported to do. And I believe the 2-0 (rating), it’s even beneficiant for them. It might have been much more. However I’m very blissful as a result of we performed actually, actually, rather well.

“It’s all the time candy to beat your rival. It’s all the time candy to remind everybody — even the large guys at MLS once they say ‘King of Cascadia, Portland, Seattle,’ No. In the mean time we made six factors. I don’t know who’s the king of Cascadia, however we’re there for the throne, for certain.”

BAD LUCK BOYS

White has had his share of unhealthy luck this yr, he of the stratospheric xG however simply 4 MLS objectives. It seems to have rubbed off on Gauld.

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His 59th minute strike, curling round a defender and off the publish, bounced off Stefan Frei and trickled into the web. He acquired mobbed my his teammates, all of them rubbing his sandy mop, as everybody within the constructing had figured he’d scored the insurance coverage purpose.

However the MLS replay officers killed all the enjoyment, ruling his rating an personal purpose off of Frei. It’d get overturned by the league workplace in evaluate, however because it stood post-game Saturday, he’s but to attain in league play this yr.

“It’s Ryan’s purpose. Come on,” stated Sartini. “I believe it’s unfair to Frei too, to name it an personal purpose of him. I do know that technically it’s an personal purpose, however for me it counts as Ryan’s purpose.”

Gauld didn’t appear enthused concerning the information post-game, however didn’t appear overly put out, both.

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“I imply, it’s what it’s,” he stated, channeling his internal Todd Bertuzzi.

“I’ve by no means actually been one to care about statistics; no less than we received the three factors. It was the identical purpose give us a little bit of a cushion, in order that’s what actually issues.

“We’ve proved we’re able to being the most effective staff (within the West) thus far,” he added. “We’re going to have to indicate much more consistency if we wish to be thought-about one of many higher groups within the West. We’re gonna need to , not simply doing one-off video games, we’re gonna have to indicate it persistently over the season.”

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NEXT GAME

Wednesday

Canadian Championship semi-final

Pacific FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

7 p.m., Starlight Stadium, TV: TSN, Radio: AM730

SMOTHERING DEFENCE

Whereas their house shutout streak was snapped of their win over Minnesota, they began one other one Saturday. Beginning in a 3-5-2 formation with a cell trio of centre backs in Javain Brown, Tristan Blackmon and Matthias Laborda, they saved the Sounders at bay.

Seattle had simply three pictures on the half, none on track, and completed with eight pictures general. Yohei Takaoka was referred to as on simply as soon as to make a save, skying excessive to tip an Albert Rusnák shot over the bar within the sixty fifth minute.

The Whitecaps had 17 complete pictures, 5 on track, and will have inflated their purpose complete however for the unhealthy luck that has dogged their ending all season.

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Sartini made the change to a few on the again for the primary time this yr with Ranko Veselinovic — who was away in Serbia for his brother’s wedding ceremony — and began Seb Berhalter alongside Andres Cubas to present his facet two defensive midfielders. Alessandro Schopf and Julian Gressel acquired to relaxation for many of the recreation, beginning on the bench earlier than coming in late within the second half, at which level Vancouver switched to a four-man again line.

However earlier than that, with wingback Luis Martins “wanting like Paolo Maldini” and Ali Ahmed dicing up the Sounders on the opposite wings, Seattle spent many of the first half making an attempt to determine the Caps. Two halftime substitutions did little to unravel their issues.

“I believe the efficiency was actually good and by everybody it’s actually arduous to single out somebody,” stated Sartini.

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VOTE FOR PEDRO

Vite doesn’t rating that always, however when he does, it’s towards Seattle, at house, to open the scoring.

When Ecuadorian midfielder took benefit of a nasty turnover to attain towards Dallas midweek, it was his first purpose since Sept. 17, 2022, when he scored the opener in a 2-1 win over the Sounders.

He scored once more Saturday, this time when he pressured Alex Roldan right into a horrible spark off his chest, then operating across the Sounders defender to poke within the ball for the forty fourth minute opener.

Vite now has 4 profession MLS objectives for the Caps.

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CASCADIA RACE

The Sounders may be atop the West, however they’re on the backside of the place it actually issues, the Cascadia Cup.

With the win, the Whitecaps and Portland are tied on six factors, with the Timbers forward on purpose distinction (+4 to +1). However on the backside, winless in 2023, are the Seattle Sounders, with a purpose differential of -5, after dropping 4-1 and 2-0 to Portland and Vancouver, respectively.

It’s the primary time in historical past the Caps have crushed each the Timbers and Sounders at house in the identical season.

GHOSTS OF THE PACIFIC

The Whitecaps are on the highway once more for his or her subsequent recreation, however luckily it’s not a protracted journey — only a fast airplane journey to Vancouver Island on Tuesday afternoon.

They tackle Pacific FC within the Canadian Championship semifinal on Wednesday afternoon, the identical staff that knocked them out of the match in 2021.

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“Whoever was right here in 2021 is aware of it’s going to be a very robust recreation. We now have unhealthy recollections of that recreation that we wish to put proper,” stated Gauld. “It’s a good pitch towards a staff, who’re gonna be actually up for that. They’ve began the CPL (season) rather well. They’re going to be assured coming into it as properly. It’s the sort of recreation the place we’re gonna need to be like our greatest if we wish to to beat them.

“They got here out flying towards us a few years in the past they usually acquired the higher of us for the for the complete 90 minutes, so we all know what to anticipate and we’re gonna have to ensure we don’t make the identical sort of errors that we made earlier than.”

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