Saturday night, the Vancouver Whitecaps secured their first win against the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field since 2016.

It was a memorable night for both clubs in many respects. For the Whitecaps, they seized an opportunity to re-assert their standing at the top of the Western Conference, erasing much of the disappointment felt after a crushing late-game collapse against the Galaxy at home the week prior. Added to this, their continued ability to handle hostile road environments shows a level of maturity and experience I don’t think we’ve seen in this group until this year.

For the Sounders, this might be the lowest point yet in a season that is dangerously close to going completely off the rails. For a team with so many recognizable names and a recent history of success in MLS and continental competition, the Sounders look completely unrecognizable at the moment.

Now, the reason we are all here, at least in theory, is to hand out some player grades. These grades are arbitrary even at the best of times, but that’s part of the fun (at least for me). However, in a game that plays out the way this one did, breaking down the individual performances is particularly difficult.

The Whitecaps capitalized on two egregious errors from Seattle’s defence and other than that, largely used their numerical advantage to dominate possession and run out the clock. Is that a great performance? I think the answer is “yes” in the sense that it’s exactly what the match called for. I think the answer is “no” in the sense that this is not a performance the Whitecaps can expect to replicate on many occasions. So, I will do my best to reflect all of that in the grades below, but take it all with a grain of salt. This was a weird match.

Yohei Takaoka – 7.0

The Japanese keeper did not have much to do, although he did make a great save to preserve the clean sheet in the late stages. Takaoka is still quite bad at handling crosses that arrive at the edge of his six-yard box, and I thought he was lucky in the 25th minute that Seattle was not able to take advantage of his error.

Bjorn Inge Utvik – 7.0

The Norwegian defender is settling in nicely. He’s an unproblematic defender who’s disciplined in his positioning and keeps the game in front of him, which is something Vancouver needs at times in that wide role in the back three. He’s also very capable with the ball at his feet, which was needed in this one with Vancouver having so much possession.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.0 

He was solid on the ball as per usual and had a couple of important clearances when things got messy at the back before Seattle went down to ten men.

Tristan Blackmon – 6.5

While decent overall, Blackmon did have a couple of loose passes and was beat to a couple of headers when Seattle was able to create chances in the first half.

Andres Cubas – 7.0

Cubas was a midfield terror as per usual, but I think I have to dock at least .5 for taking a very unnecessary yellow card in the late stages. As a result, Cubas is suspended for the match this upcoming weekend in New York.

Pedro Vite – 6.5

The youngster has been underwhelming so far this year, but I did think this match suited him in terms of having plenty of time on the ball. While his defensive growth has been impressive, you can’t help but feel like playing this deep has taken away some of his best qualities.

Alessandro Schopf – 7.0

The Austrian continues to be very solid, showing his ability to play both out wide and centrally in Vanni’s 3-4-3 system. With Adekugbe and Ahmed looking equally flexible in terms of positioning, it gives Vancouver a lot of options.

Ali Ahmed – 7.5

After a mixed showing against the Galaxy, I thought that Ahmed was back on it against the Sounders. Despite not finding a final product, both he and Adekugbe were positive in possession before the first red card, leading to Vancouver’s best looks to that point.

Sam Adekugbe – 8.0

Thrust into a more advanced role in order to reduce wear and tear, the Canadian international had a bright first start of 2024. His assist to Ryan Gauld in the 58th minute was a culmination of all the great work he did on the ball up until that point. Adekugbe has a great sense of when to make a run and where to place a pass in traffic, and obviously, his cutback to Gauld was a great example of that.

Ryan Gauld – 8.0

The Scotsman was at the centre of a lot that happened in this match. He suffered the foul that led to Ragen’s red card, and he scored the goal to put Vancouver up 1-0. Otherwise, I thought Gauld was a very good conduit for Vancouver on the ball in the first half, and it was nice to see them show a lot more in terms of positive play on the ball than we saw last weekend at home against the Galaxy.

Brian White – 8.0

Despite the frustrations last weekend, White continues to score. He’s now tied with Camilo for the Whitecaps’ regular season goal scoring record, and will look to break the record next weekend in front of friends and family, against his former team, in New York. For every chance White misses, there’s also one he creates from his work off the ball, as we saw for the second goal against Seattle. That’s a big reason why he’s been so effective.

Substitutes – 7.5

A big shout-out to Damir Kreilach for turning on the jets, pressing to help create the second goal for Vancouver, you love to see it. Otherwise, I also need to hand out a congrats to Jay Herdman for making his Whitecaps debut. It’s been a long road back from injury, but it sounds like Jay has the respect of those around him in the Whitecaps system, from coaches to players and staff. Hopefully, he can be one of the next guys to make the jump from next pro. Elsewhere off the bench, I thought both Seb Berhalter and Ryan Raposo looked bright when they came on, but obviously, that was easier to do than normal being up a couple of players.

Vanni Sartini – 7.0

I think Vanni did a nice job getting Adekugbe back involved, while also solving an issue up front in the absence of Fafa Picault. As mentioned, it looked like Vancouver was a lot more comfortable in possession against Seattle than they ever were against the Galaxy, and that’s encouraging. Defensively, the only chances Vancouver gave away were set-pieces and crosses, low-quality ones at that, which is pretty much their game plan. Again, it’s hard to take too much away from this one, but Vancouver had to go out and execute in the second half to come away with all three points, and they were able to do so. Attentions now turn to another tough test this upcoming weekend against the Red Bulls, who are second in the East.

(Image Credits: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)