Wednesday night in Houston, the Vancouver Whitecaps earned a 1-1 draw against the Dynamo.

It was a match where the momentum changed drastically from half to half. The home side dominated the first stanza, and as a result, the Whitecaps would have been very happy to take the match to the break scoreless. However, a rash challenge from Pedro Vite late first half extra time sent the dynamo to the spot for a penalty kick. With Ezequiel Ponce converting from the spot and launching the home team ahead, it would have been easy for Vancouver to wilt in the second forty-five down a goal. Credit to the Whitecaps though, as they did just the opposite. Vanni Sartini changed his team’s tactics, and through fresh legs and a renewed aggression, Vancouver took the match to Houston as proceedings went on. Brian White scored on his return in the 73rd minute, and at the end of the night, the Whitecaps were perhaps a bit unlucky they were not able to find a second goal to secure all three points.

Alright, with all that said, on to the player ratings we go:

Yohei Takaoka – 6.5

Technically, Takaoka did not have to make a single save in this match from open play, as Houston’s only effort on target was from the penalty kick. Obviously, the match itself tells a bit of a different story, as there were two big moments where Houston was called offside, one where Takaoka made a great save, and the other where Takaoka did not have much of a chance. Equally, Takaoka did well to guess right on the penalty kick, though the shot was at a savable height, so you can’t help but wonder if he could have managed to get a stronger hand on the shot.

Mathias Laborda – 6.0

There were certainly a couple of 1v1 moments in this match where Laborda got turned around that made you cringe. Nonetheless, I like the Uruguayan’s aggression and unwavering confidence. He was impactful in the air at both ends of the pitch, and good with the ball at his feet when Vancouver started to play more with possession.

Bjorn Inge Utvik – 5.5

This is the kind of match where I’m tempted by the idea of inserting Blackmon and Halbouni back into the starting XI on a regular basis. It’s not that Utvik makes any glaring errors, but it doesn’t feel like the Norwegian is bringing a lot to the table either. He’s a lesser athlete and passer in comparison to those other two options, and he has the habit of dropping very deep, especially when Vancouver is under pressure. I do think Utvik is an intelligent player and understands the system very well, I’m just not sure that’s enough against the best teams come playoff time.

Ranko Veselinovic – 8.5

This was a massive match from the Serbian defender. He made two goal-saving plays, one in transition and one directly in front of the Vancouver goal. He was almost perfect with his passing, as well as in the air. It was great to see.

Andres Cubas – 6.5

I can’t say I noticed a lot of standout moments from Cubas in the first half, though he was forced to defend a good amount with Houston on the ball so much. Hopefully his quad issue is not too serious. The Whitecaps will need him fully healthy as soon as he’s ready.

Pedro Vite – 5.5

After a massive performance against San Jose, this one was a struggle for Vite. Playing a lot without the ball, the Ecuadorian seemed to be pressing the issue a bit too much, which led to the yellow card and eventually to the foul which gave away the penalty. I still think what we’ve seen from Vite recently is encouraging, but he’s undoubtedly better suited for matches where Vancouver is on the front foot.

Sam Adekugbe – 6.0

Making his second straight start, I wonder how much gas Sam really had in the tank, especially in the Houston heat. Vancouver was exposed in those wide areas early and Vanni Sartini had to switch things up. The nice thing about Adekugbe is that he can slot seamlessly into a back four and he looked much more comfortable there as the match went on.

Sebastian Berhalter – 7.5

As Vancouver started to crank up the intensity in the second half, Berhalter was the engine of many of those positive moments. He played in some really nice balls, both from set pieces and open play.

Ryan Raposo – 6.0

With competition in wide areas at the moment, especially with the new additions, this would have been a good match for Raposo to make a case for more minutes. While it wasn’t a bad match for Raposo per se, I’m not sure he made that case either.

Ryan Gauld – 7.0

It felt like Ryan Gauld barely had a touch on the ball in the first half, and he only had 20 touches in 87 minutes of play. None of that matters though, because he did a tremendous job when it mattered most: drawing Houston’s defence into a wide area, before playing a perfect pass to Fafa Picault which set up Vancouver’s goal. You need moments like that from your best player, and Gauld delivered, even if it was not his best night overall.

Fafa Picault – 8.0

I think what I admire most about Picault’s game is his ability to energize those around him with the way he plays. You saw that in the second half, every time Picault chased after a long ball or tracked back to hassle a Houston attacker, it seemed to give Vancouver energy, and they fed off that energy as they took the match to Houston. The run Fafa made to help create Vancouver’s goal speaks for itself, as does the headed clearance he made in his own area to cancel out a dangerous back-post look for the Dynamo.

Substitutes – 7.0

First and foremost, it was great to see Brian White back in action and back to his goal-scoring ways. Also, I want to give credit to Ralph Priso for a second straight quality performance. He’s never going to be my favourite player, but he has been getting the job done when Vanni Sartini has called his number. Alessandro Schopf was also very solid replacing Pedro Vite at the half, while we didn’t see too much worth noting from either Blackmon or Ocampo.

Vanni Sartini – 8.0

I think Vanni deserves a lot of credit for the way he handled this match. As he explained in the post match presser, in the past, he would have been too stubborn to change the tactics and adapt to the way the match was playing out – he would have been too idealistic. In this match though, Sartini made the necessary concessions without completely abandoning what makes his team click, those dangerous transition moments, where they found a goal.