Saturday night in New York (well, technically, New Jersey) The Vancouver Whitecaps drew the New York Red Bulls by a final score of 1-1. It may not be a match that’s looked back upon as particularly memorable at the end of the season, but I think this is an underrated result for the Whitecaps.

Questions have been asked to this point in the season as to whether the Whitecaps could compete against the best teams in MLS. They answered the bell on Saturday night against the Red Bulls. New York had been a team in top form coming into the match, and although it wasn’t always pretty, Vancouver was able to walk away with a hard-earned point.

Although at times New York’s pressure felt overwhelming, they didn’t actually create many high-quality scoring chances. Their best opportunity of the night came in the second minute, when Mathias Laborda and Pedro Vite got mixed up in possession, and Yohei Takaoka was forced to make a double save. From that point on, while NY did challenge Takaoka with shots, most of those were obstructed or from poor angles. Equally, the Red Bulls’ goal itself came from a corner kick which should have been a routine play.

At the other end of the pitch, while Brian White scored a record-setting goal to take the solo lead for the club in regular season goals with 44, he did also have two golden opportunities in front of goal which he failed to convert – a truly emblematic reflection of the Brian White experience.

All in all, it was a match where a 1-1 result was probably a fair reflection of proceedings, and where taking a point from one of the better teams in MLS on the road should be viewed as a point gained above all else.

Ok, on to the player grades we go:

Yohei Takaoka – 7.0

As mentioned, Takaoka made a huge double save in the second minute to keep Vancouver in the match early on. In terms of shot stopping, He was also solid the rest of the way, managing rebounds and second chances following a couple of tricky shot attempts. Now, at the other end of the spectrum, Takaoka really struggled to manage crosses played into his area, with the goal against being the biggest example of that. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but Takaoka simply does not look comfortable when the ball is coming towards him high in the air. I’m not quite sure how you fix that.

Mathias Laborda – 7.0

There were a couple of adventures down Laborda’s flank, especially that one early chance, but other than that, as mentioned, Vancouver embodied the bend but don’t break philosophy well enough. Neither of the outside centre backs in this match were particularly sharp with their passing.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.5

Ranko was quite good in this match. He won four of his five aerial duels and was sharp with his passing from the backline, including a key pass. Again, I thought Vancouver’s back three, for the most part, did a very good job keeping New York to the outside.

Tristan Blackmon – 7.0

The American defender, like Ranko, had a good night when it came to aerial duels. Blackmon’s passing, his long balls in particular, were quite poor. He completed just 77% of his passes and four of his twelve long balls.

Sebastian Berhalter – 6.0

The young American did a nice job for Vancouver defensively, though you probably wanted more out of those two good free-kick opportunities. It’s nice to have someone like Berhalter in the squad to fill in when Cubas is unavailable.

Pedro Vite – 6.5

For what it’s worth, I thought that Pedro played with a little more swagger and confidence in this match than we’ve seen recently. It wasn’t perfect, as his dangerous back pass in the second minute would suggest, but he was more creative on the ball as he played a nice pass that launched Raposo into space, leading to Vancouver’s goal. Pedro was also quite physical, contesting a lot of challenges in the midfield, and I liked his tenacity.

Ali Ahmed – 6.5

The young Canadian was not super impactful in this one, as I don’t think the partnership of him and Adekugbe down the left side was as fruitful as Vanni Sartini hoped it would be. Nonetheless, Ahmed’s physical traits and work rate always provide real value, especially in a road match.

Ryan Raposo – 7.0

Raposo certainly has his flaws as a player, but you can’t deny the offensive impact he’s been able to provide from a wide role this season. He played a great cut-back ball that found Brian White in the area for Vancouver’s lone goal, and he won a contested ball in the midfield to help spring the Whitecaps on their other best chance of the night.

Sam Adekugbe – 6.0

The Adekugbe at winger experiment was fun, but we’re already seeing the limitations. He just doesn’t quite have the attacking instincts to take advantage of those quick transition moments and that’s what Vancouver needs up front, especially in a match on the road where chances might be at a premium. Hopefully he is fit enough to play in a traditional role soon.

Ryan Gauld – 7.5

Gauld is so good at receiving the ball deep and either making a run or a critical pass that turns a normal spell of possession into a dangerous chance. He picked out Pedro Vite in the build-up to Vancouver’s goal, played the key ball on the next chance where Brian White should have scored, and drew a foul right at the edge of New York’s area after a great run. That’s what you need on the road, a player that can push your team to that next level.

Brian White – 7.0

First off, White deserves a huge congratulations for what he’s been able to do in Vancouver. He was a squad depth player in New York, and through the move to the West Coast, he’s been able to establish himself as one of the most consistent goal producers in MLS over the last couple of seasons. That much is undeniable. Obviously, there are moments where you’d like to see White be more clinical in front of goal, but part of that, I think, is because he simply creates so many looks with his pressing and off-ball instincts. This was a match where White scored once but could have easily had three. While this can be frustrating, I think White deserves as much credit for getting himself in those positions as he does for failing (at times) to convert.

Substitutes – 6.5

I’m not sure I have something profound to say here. This was a weird match in terms of substitutions because Vancouver looked to be playing for the draw, subbing on Ralph Priso and Javain Brown, but then after the red card for New York, Vancouver shifted focus again, trying to see if they could get three points. I suppose questions could be asked as to why Vancouver wasn’t able to threaten more up a man in the late stages, but ultimately, I think that’s a bit nit-picky. It was nice to see Fafa Picault back in action after his back issues. Also, the sample size is small so far, but I can see why Priso is on his third team since 2022. He hasn’t passed the eye test just yet.

Alright, those were my thoughts from a tough-earned road point in the New York area. The Whitecaps are back at home next weekend to take on Austin, who just beat the Galaxy 2-0 at home. Let me know your thoughts in the comments as always!

(Image Credit: Oliver Figueroa)