Well, the Whitecaps were bound to lose at some point, with a shorthanded side coming up short against the Chicago Fire, falling 3-1 in their first defeat of the year.

This was a match where the Caps had no shortage of chances, despite missing six starters, and a bit crisper of a performance in midfield and defense would have helped them see out at least a draw.

The lone silver lining of international break chaos is it means we get to see how some of the depth pieces look and this one also gave a first look at Emmanuel Sabbi. How did everyone stack up? Read on for the report card grades:

Yohei Takaoka: 5.5

Caught flat footed on the Fire’s first goal and should have done better to cut out Phillip Zickernagel’s cross. Taka stepped up with a strong hand to keep it from becoming 2-0 a couple of minutes later, however, and he probably winds up doing enough to balance out his early error.

Edier Ocampo: 6.5

Frustrated the heck out of Andrew Gutman, drawing multiple fouls and, ultimately, a booking with his dynamic movement. Was much more active in the second half and was denied a sizzling goal by the fingertips of Chris Brady. He understandably works better in a team with better players to run off of but Ocampo showed in this one he could create flashes of danger on his own.

Bjorn Utvik: 5.5

I thought it was a rough match for Utvik, who struggled positionally and nearly gave away what would have been an all-time classic (in a bad way) own goal. He had a couple of better defensive moments in the second half but his lack of pace hurt in this one.

Ranko Veselinovic: 5.5

Struggled with the Fire’s pace when things got at full tilt and had trouble at times to organize this cobbled together lineup.

Mathias Laborda: 6.5

Got absolutely dusted on the Fire goal but settled in after that, coming up with a couple of big defensive plays. He also chipped in a couple of key passes, coming up with late arriving runs on the flank to create danger that way. It wasn’t the most natural of situations for Laborda playing out of position but he adapted decently well.

Ralph Priso: 4

Priso is sort of what he is at this point: a cheap, domestic player who will sometimes put in a tackle that reminds you of Andres Cubas and will at other points commit the most mind-numbingly frustrating turnover imaginable. This match was the latter, with a terrible giveaway to gift the Fire their second goal. He is at his best when he is able to create space on the half turn which would make me rather see him as an 8, where his defensive errors and at times suspect positioning are less impactful.

J.C. Ngando: 6

An uneven match for Ngando, who was wasteful in possession and passing. His best moments came in little pockets of space behind the midfield line but he began to drift out wide to help in the build up, trying to work with Edier Ocampo to overload the righthand side.

Sebastian Berhalter: 7.5

Berhalter was easily the Caps’ creative force, with some really great passes and touches from deeper lying areas to unlock the game and create danger and some phenomenal service in the box. His set piece delivery has returned to form as well. Despite a couple of misplayed balls, he was the man of the match for sure.

Liam MacKenzie: 6

His enterprising pressing helped force the error that ultimately led to Daniel Rios’ goal, earning MacKenzie a secondary assist in his MLS debut. He didn’t have a ton of involvement in the match, largely because the game was played down the left side, but didn’t look out of place. Credit to Jesper Sorensen for rewarding MacKenzie with the start.

Daniel Rios: 7

Rios opened his account with class. Sure, the Caps were gifted possession in a great area but his run and finish had a higher degree of difficulty than it looked on first watch. Beyond the 10 minute stretch following the goal, however, Rios didn’t really get into the match very much and continues to look a bit disconnected.

Jayden Nelson: 7

A well-weighted ball to nab another assist . Looked lively, making himself available with good runs trying to get on the end of long balls over the top. He was not always the crispest in taking players on but the most dangerous Whitecaps looks came from moments Nelson created.

Jeevan Badwal, Emmanuel Sabbi, Tate Johnsom, Belal Halbouni, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau:

Sabbi’s debut is the most notable of the subs and while he looked rusty, there is clearly a dangerous player there. He made a couple of nice runs but his end product is obviously not as sharp as it could be. NFC worked a decent chance in stoppage time and I continue to really like what I see with Tate Johnson.