By Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic and Samuel Rowan

Well, that was something. 

As has become custom recently, the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Houston Dynamo combined for an entertaining heavyweight slugfest filled with goals, as the Dynamo downed the Whitecaps 4-3 at BC Place on Saturday. 

After both teams had traded a pair of high-scoring wins in 2023 – the Whitecaps claimed a 6-2 win over Houston on May 31st, 2023 before Houston responded with a 4-1 win on September 20th – this was another game to add to that collection of barnburners. 

It started early, as the Dynamo stormed out to a 2-0 lead inside 36 minutes with goals from Adalberto Carasquilla and Griffin Dorsey, but then the Whitecaps surprisingly turned things around in the second half with a brace from Fafá Picault and a goal from Ranko Veselinović. 

Given that they were without their attacking talisman, Ryan Gauld, who was withdrawn with a knock in the first half, it was a big statement from the ‘Caps, who seemed on track to grab a massive win with 20 minutes to go.

Unfortunately for them, however, they were unable to see that lead over the line, as Brad Smith equalized in the 78th minute, before Dorsey found a winner in the 87th minute, allowing Houston to leave with a huge three points in their pocket. 

This game is wild! 🔥

Another one for Griffin Dorsey! pic.twitter.com/imSAdmHMOe

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024

With that, it also snapped a five-game undefeated run for the Whitecaps in MLS play, as well as a three-game home winning streak, sending them into a month-long Leagues Cup break on a bit of a low after a strong surge of form over the past few weeks. 

Here are three thoughts from this game, as we saw it from inside BC Place. 

Sometimes you just get xG’d

The game of football can be a cruel thing, and the Whitecaps experienced the full brunt of that on Saturday night against Houston. If you look at the MLS xG numbers, Vancouver completely outclassed the visiting Dynamo by a measure of 3.8 to 1.4. 

Now, it is worth pointing out that the majority of those moments came in the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, but nonetheless, the Whitecaps took one of the best defensive teams in MLS this season to task without Ryan Gauld on the pitch, and that was impressive to see. It’s clear that Vancouver can hit an elite level in attack when everything is clicking, it’s just been a question of building consistently within matches. 

As with the last couple of performances, some of Vancouver’s depth contributors really stood up to the challenge. Fafà Picault was immense (more on him shortly), Ryan Raposo played very well off of the bench, and Seb Berhalter also put in a really solid showing.

Now, on the flip side, when you have a result go against you like this, there has to be some kind of explanation for where it all went wrong. 

The primary place to look is probably in goal, where Yohei Takaoka conceded 1.57 goals above expected. It was not that he made any massive errors, but the Japanese keeper simply failed to get close to three shots from distance that were all saveable to varying extents. 

What a stunner! 🤯

Brad Smith levels it for @HoustonDynamo. pic.twitter.com/YV6DvZGapn

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024

It’s been a hallmark of Takaoka’s game as of late, he simply hasn’t been able to get a hand on those 50/50 shots when the team could really use a big lift.

At the end of the day, I think this is one of those chaotic matches that is more frustrating than it is deeply concerning. Your season won’t fall apart because you lose matches like this one, but you also want to be dominant enough as a side where things are less often left in the hands of the sometimes cruel soccer gods. 

Over the last few games, the Whitecaps have been on the positive side of that equation more often than not, so in a sense, a cynic might even call this a market correction. – Sam

Fafà Picault continues career year amid off-field chaos:

Who would’ve seen this coming at the beginning of the year – Fafà Picault, impact contributor and key offensive driver?

Certainly, it’s come as a huge surprise for a player who seemed likely to fill a rotation role when he signed in Vancouver, but Picault has continued to blow expectations out of the water with each passing game, and he may have put together his best showing yet in this one. 

Despite the early loss of Gauld, who was withdrawn with a knee knock in the 30th minute, Picault stepped up in a big way, scoring two goals and adding an assist, becoming the team’s offensive driver when their talisman went down. 

As a result, he finished with multiple goal contributions for the fourth time in a game this season – he had no such outings in a nine-goal and two-assist campaign for Nashville SC last season across 39 games in all competitions, making it remarkable to see him have four of them in just 24 appearances already for the Whitecaps. 

Yet, that’s a sign of how he’s been able to step up and become a key part of this team’s offence this season. Originally penciled in as a rotational piece that might start some games and come off the bench in others, he’s made it hard to leave himself out of the lineup. 

And given that he sits with eight goals and four assists, it’s hard to argue that he deserves anything less than a starting role going forward, especially if he stays as red-hot as he currently is – he’s now generated five goals and added an assist in his last six games. 

Fafà Picault heads it home to cut the deficit in half! pic.twitter.com/sUJTpshQF2

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024

Despite carrying a profile that has struggled to fit in at the Whitecaps under Vanni Sartini – a creative wide player who likes to take on players, doing so with flair and gusto, he’s seemed to be just what this attack needs to click. 

It’s no coincidence that the ‘Caps best stretches of the season have come at the beginning and as of late when Picault has been hot, while their rough stretch of the season just happened to line up with the portion of the schedule where Picault battled back spasms that pushed him in and out of a starting role. 

When he’s been fit and healthy, the Whitecaps have tended to be better for it offensively, and that they were able to generate three goals in this game is another example of that. 

Interestingly, however, Picault’s success hasn’t come from some huge adjustment to his game, however, as one would’ve expected given how he fit in the system. Instead, he’s remained true to his skills as a player, and that’s been an asset to the Whitecaps.

Sometimes guilty of being too predictable in the attack, as they look for the perfect goal, Picault has been anything but easy to defend. Thanks to his flair and dribbling, he’s brought an element of surprise to this team, and that’s allowed him to thrive. 

And that provides an interesting conundrum, as his style of play seems to be the antithesis of Sartini’s system, which requires collective buy-in and understanding. Perhaps, that could be the root cause of Picault’s lone misstep, at least from the perspective of Whitecaps fans, which was to reportedly ask for a trade back at the end of June. 

Veselinović buries the header!

This one's level with plenty of time left. 👀 pic.twitter.com/gkLYn5e3MF

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024

Given that he appears to be quite appreciative of the city, has called this locker room “one of the best” he’s had, and has quickly become a fan favourite with his play, it’s hard to imagine him really wanting to leave. 

Certainly, there could be other factors at play, as one wouldn’t fault him for missing being closer to home (he joked after this game that he’s struggled to find good Caribbean food in Vancouver), this has been about as good of a fit as anyone could’ve expected, if not better. 

Because of that, it’ll be intriguing to see how this situation develops. No doubt, the Whitecaps have been at their best when he starts, as he’s provided a third threat for Ryan Gauld and Brian White to rely on. 

At the same time, if he does indeed want out, it’s hard to imagine his value being any higher than it is now, either.

Fafá Picault again! After being down 2-0 at halftime, @WhitecapsFC take the 3-2 lead! pic.twitter.com/NQjkF6T9m5

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2024

The good news? No matter what happens, Picault doesn’t seem like slowing down anytime soon. An easy-going personality off the pitch, he’s at a stage of his career where he doesn’t let outside noise bother him, so look for him to keep this form going. 

Either the Whitecaps benefit from it and watch the trio of him, White and Gauld push for 10+ goals (which they’re on pace to do, which would be a first for the Whitecaps in the MLS era), or they trade him for good value, so it’s hard to see them losing in either scenario. 

But based on the form he’s been in, it would be a shame to see him leave the Whitecaps, as they went through something similar with Julian Gressel’s amicable departure last year, and that ended up being a big blow for their playoff hopes. 

This time, they’ll hope for a happier ending, but until then, Picault’s going to keep doing his thing, no matter what kit he is wearing. 

“I’ve just always kind of been like that,” Picault said. “It’s a game at the end of the day. It’s just soccer. If you look around the world, there are a lot of things going on right now, a lot of problems, so I’m blessed to do something I love, with my family, I get to fight it out with my teammates, but at the end of the day, win or lose, it’s a game.” 

“You want to win every game you can, I remember that, and then I go out there and play it like it’s a playground and try to have fun.”

He added: “My job is just to play, and whatever decisions are made are not up to me as a player, I’ll just be professional and do the best I can.”

– Alex

Time for a much-needed breather:

For the first time in a while, the Whitecaps can take a deep breath. 

There have been midweek games aplenty for Vancouver over the last couple of months, along with plenty of travel, and this upcoming quiet time in the schedule should provide the Whitecaps time to refocus themselves ahead of the final push towards the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Whatever you think of the Leagues Cup as a competition, it will be interesting to see Vancouver test themselves against a Liga MX side again. Not to be forgotten, there is also the Wrexham friendly, which I’m sure will be a unique experience no matter what the football looks like. 

All in all, though, Vancouver should use this time to answer some questions which have been lurking in the background for a while now:

Will they find a third key contributor to share the load with White and Gauld? 

Are Fafa Picault and Javain Brown headed for the exit door in this transfer window? 

Can Sam Adekugbe stay healthy and provide the kind of impact we saw flashes of in this match against Houston? 

Will Vancouver finally be able to get the most out of Ali Ahmed and Pedro Vite down the stretch?

Has Vanni Sartini finally settled on his first choice back three?

This upcoming break is a great time for Vanni Sartini and Axel Schuster to do their best to answer these questions, or at the very least move closer to doing so. It also provides us the time to discuss these topics and try to prognosticate where Vancouver will end up at season’s end.

In spite of the loss against Houston, this is a very competitive Whitecaps team that has the potential to be right at the top of the Western Conference mix at the end of the season, even as currently constructed. With Vancouver currently sitting 5th in the West, the more of those questions they can answer before their next MLS match on August 24th against LAFC at BC Place, the better. -Sam

This post was done in collaboration with Canadian Soccer Daily, who cover all things Canadian Soccer at https://canadiansoccerdaily.com