The Whitecaps opened their 2024 MLS season with a 1-1 draw against Charlotte FC at BC Place on Saturday, as Charlotte’s Iuri Tavares found the back of the net early before the Whitecaps responded through Ryan Raposo right before half-time, leaving both teams to split the spoils.

Because of that, the Whitecaps remain with just one win in home openers since 2015 (2021 excluded), as they continue to struggle in these sort of matches.

Despite that, they’ll be pleased to have gotten a point, given that they went down early and were playing an intra-conference opponent, even if they’ll also feel that they left a win on the table.

But that’s been the big question of this team heading into this season, as many have wondered if they’ll have the killer instinct to take a big step forward, and so far this game didn’t show too much in that regard.

Yet, they ended up tripping over their feet a little bit, too, as they were let down by a slow start to this game.

After a quiet first 10 minutes, Charlotte had their first big chance in the 11th minute, as left back Jere Uronen did well to wander into the box, but despite having the ball fall to him in a dangerous position, he scuffed his shot right at Yohei Takaoka in the Whitecaps goal.

Then, continuing a positive start from the visitors, Tavares had his first attempt on goal in the 19th minute, as he managed to get on the end of a dangerous flicked-on corner, but his header would be easily caught by Takaoka.

Finally able to muster up some offence of their own after struggling to build up through the first 20 minutes, the Whitecaps finally had a chance in the 22nd minute, as the ball fell to Ranko Veselinovic after a set-piece, but his acrobatic volley attempt would be caught by Kristijan Kahlina.

Soon after, however, Charlotte had a huge turning point moment for them, as after a light coming together in the box between Veselinovic and Enzo Copetti, one that seemed like a 50/50 at first glance, the referee called for a penalty. Luckily, VAR quickly intervened, leading to the call being overturned, but it was a warning call for the Whitecaps, showing that Charlotte was knocking on the door.

Sensing that, the Whitecaps then had their best chance the game right after that, as they won a free kick in a dangerous area in the 28th minute, which Ryan Gauld stepped up to take. There, he’d do well to deliver a peach of a cross, too, putting the ball right on Triston Blackmon’s head, but the Whitecaps centre back would guide his header just wide of the post.

Unfortunately, the ‘Caps would quickly come to regret missing that chance, too, as Charlotte then opened the scoring just minutes later.

After a sloppy turnover in their build-up play, Kerwin Vargas found a wide-open Tavares with a low cross that Copetti did well to dummy and leave for Tavares behind him, and Tavares wouldn’t miss from in-close, curling the ball into the top corner to give his team the lead.

Iuri Tavares scores his first MLS goal to give @CharlotteFC the lead. 💪

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/ysBsQKvQO8 pic.twitter.com/fLRI9N4Lvv

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 3, 2024

As a result, it left the Whitecaps with a hole to climb at the worst time, because while they hadn’t looked their best on the ball, they’ll have felt that they were doing enough defensively to keep things at 0-0 before that goal.

They wouldn’t have much time to dwell on that, however, and Charlotte nearly reminded them of that in a big way in the 40th minute, as Copetti managed to get on a breakaway after catching Veselinovic in possession, but despite having all the time in the world to pick out the bottom corner, his low attempt would be kicked aside by a confident Takaoka.

TA🧱KA🧱OK🧱KA🧱 pic.twitter.com/2YZ0CtZVwD

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) March 3, 2024

A save that immediately felt like a key turning point in the match, that seemed to give the Whitecaps new life, as they looked to find an equalizer. They’d nearly find it in the first minute of first half stoppage time, too, as Gauld had a good look at goal from distance, but Kahlina did well to get down in front of his shot.

Despite that, the Whitecaps wouldn’t be done pushing to end the first half, as they looked to tie the game before the five minutes of stoppage time expired.

And to their credit, they’d be rewarded for that persistence in the fourth minute of added time. There, on the second phase of a corner, Pedro Vite floated in a perfect ball to Ryan Raposo, who was wide-open behind Charlotte’s defence, and despite not putting much power on his shot, he was able to guide his shot past Kahlina to tie the game.

Raposo opens up our scoring for the 2024 @MLS season! 💥

Assisted by Pedro Vite 🍎#VWFC | #FIFTYTGTHR

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) March 3, 2024

A goal that couldn’t have come at a better time for the ‘Caps, it gave them a chance to regroup at the break, knowing that their task remained the same as it was when the game started – break the deadlock in any way possible.

Yet, heading into the second half, that urgency quickly disappeared to start, as both teams settled back into a lull, which saw the game slow right down.

Because of that, other than an Alessandro Schöpf half chance from distance in the 54th minute, and a missed Copetti header in the 58th, there wouldn’t be much to talk about through the first 25 minutes of the new half.

In an instant, however, that would change in the 70th minute, as the ‘Caps started to wake-up, perhaps sensing that the win was there for the taking.

As a result, they had two great chances back-to-back around the 72nd minute, with Javain Brown doing well to force a strong save from Kahlina on a powerful header off a corner, before Fafà Picault waas denied by another great save from Kahlina on a shot in the box two minutes later.

Despite settling into more of a defensive posture, however, Charlotte still felt they could also win the game, and reminded the ‘Caps of that in the 75th minute, as they found Patrick Agyemang with a great cross, but his header was right into Takaoka’s hands from in close.

After that warning shot, the Whitecaps continued to push, and had another great chance through Picault, who this time played provider in the 79th minute, putting in a perfect cross for Brian White near the penalty spot, but the ‘Caps top scorer in 2023 couldn’t keep his header below the crossbar.

Then, right after, White had another good look at goal, unleashing a dangerous shot from a tight angle, but he was unable to keep his shot down, sending it over the crossbar.

And from there, that’d be all that either team would be able to muster up, as despite having plenty of time to grab a late winner with there being seven minutes of added time, it was not meant to be on the night.

Because of that, it’ll leave the Whitecaps with plenty to ponder as they head into week 2 of their season.

Ultimately, this was far from a poor performance, but they weren’t able to impose themselves in a game where they were expected to be an aggressor, especially given that they were at home. For a team that wants to be one of the best in the West, these are the sort of games you have to win, which will make a point feel frustrating.

Here are some other thoughts from this one:

• So far through preseason and the regular season, goals could be a worry, as a lot of the Whitecaps preseason matches in Marbella finished with them either scoring zero or one, while one was all they were able to muster up against Tigres. They’ve been generating chances, so that’s been good to see, but they’ve lacked a cutting edge in their finishing.
• On the flipside, it’s been good to see the Whitecaps remain relatively solid defensively, as while there were some moments they’ll want back, such as the turnover leading to the goal, they did relatively well to keep Charlotte quiet, limiting them to just seven shots. Unfortunately, given that those seven shots were worth 1.2 xG, there were a few quality looks in there, including Copetti’s golden opportunity, but again they’ll take solace in the fact those moments came from individual errors. For the most part, the defensive structure that the ‘Caps are playing in is quite good, but they’ve been let down by small mistakes, which they’ll look to clean up.
• It’ll be interesting to see what the Whitecaps might do long-term, be it tactically or personnel wise (I.E. signings), to counter how teams are starting to hone in on the Ryan Gauld and Brian White partnership, doing well to stop the two from linking up in the build-up. Pedro Vite has helped a lot in midfield, while Ali Ahmed could be crucial in that regard, but given that pair will play deeper on the pitch, it’d be nice to see the third attacker in the ‘Caps set-up get a lot more involved, as Damir Kreilach had just 23 touches before being substituted, as getting him more involved could’ve opened up space for White and Gauld.
• Charlotte’s ability to clog the middle in their 4-2-3-1 is worth noting, as it suffocated a lot of the Whitecaps build up play, and could lead teams to mimic similar set-ups, as the Whitecaps have struggled at times against teams who clog up the middle and force them to play more directly when building up, while limiting their combination play in the moments they did get to the final third. Could be something to monitor
• Pedro Vite continues to look poised to have a massive season – 1 assist, 39/44 completed passes, 2 chances created, 1 dribble, 6 passes into the final third, 3/5 long balls and 9 recoveries are just a few of the stats that stood out for him on the night.
• Fafà Picault’s directness off the bench continues to be an asset late in games – perhaps a start could be coming for him next week on the road in San Jose