The Vancouver Whitecaps fought LAFC to a 2-2 draw in a game that was surprisingly disappointing given Vancouver’s history against LAFC.
In the first half, a couple of bad things happened that, logically, were going to happen at some point. Firstly, they gave up a set piece goal in MLS play for the first time this season. It was a disappointing goal to concede, with a couple of lost duels and slightly lax marking, but these things are going to happen at some point. The other thing that happened was that Edier Ocampo got caught out of position and gave away a penalty. A young fullback who plays a very physical game was always going to have a moment like this eventually. So, the Whitecaps found themselves in a two-goal hole thanks to two negative things that were due to happen happening at almost the exact same time. While these events were not good, I’m not sure you could say either is evidence of some previously unexplored weak spot in Vancouver’s team.
With two early goals, LAFC tried to do what they do and sit deep to hit on the counter. I got ‘Nam flashbacks when Marc Dos Santos gave a half-time interview at BC Place where he talked about how his team was getting a little too deep against the opposition pressure. But Vancouver was struggling a little bit to break down LAFC. The Apple TV team was convinced that Pedro Vite playing nominally on the wing was the reason for this but I am not so sure. It is true that Vite was dropping deeper to get the ball, but that was balanced out by Edier Ocampo occupying the spaces that a winger would normally be in. That said, Vancouver was definitely having a hard time getting the ball into the middle of the final 3rd. Amazingly, I felt like this was the first game in a long time where they were really missing Ryan Gauld.
Still though, letting this Vancouver team have the ball is a recipe for disaster even when they are not firing on all cylinders. Brian White scored off a set-piece in the first half and then equalized after seemingly endless balls into the box for Vancouver. That said, the Whitecaps never really threatened again after that, and a fabulous close-range save from Yohei Takaoka was required to keep the scoreline level.
The MLS website has the xG in this game as 2.2-1.4 for LAFC, which is basically one-penalty’s worth of difference. So, perhaps that total is a little unrepresentative of the overall game but, even still, that’s kind of disappointing considering the trajectory of these two teams. But, at the same time, it’s hard to be too disappointed given everything that came before. A bad day for the Whitecaps now leads to a slightly underwhelming home draw instead of tripping their way into losing 3-0 at home.
Next up is Austin FC away. This should be a challenging match-up, but they said that the last time Vancouver was set to play Austin and we all remember how that turned out.
The ref was spiteful and ignored all the diving and theatrical displays that LAFC is known for. He was bad, a teenager could ref the game better than him. Hope to never see him again.
The big changes this year have included eliminating back passes to Takaoka, relentlessly and aggressively chasing down every ball after lost tackles, always looking for and taking opportunities to move the ball forward, and keeping the tempo high. This was all missing in the first half which looked a lot more like 2024 than 2025 Whitecaps…the scoreline reflected this. Big improvement in the second half which can’t be said about the dismal refereeing.
What happened to Laborda? He seems to be the forgotten man?
Injured since April. Should be back soon though.
Yeah he’s been back in full training for about a week or so, should see him available for austin as well as the canchamp game
The next time LAFC and Miami play, we should give Twellman his wake-up call and tell him he’s been in a coma for weeks but came out of it last night just in time to commentate on the MLS final today — then let him enjoy a vacation so the rest of the league need not listen to him. Would he catch on to the ruse? Doubt it.
The game felt like it might be over after 20 minutes so I think we all are breathing a sigh of relief thanks to Brian white’s magic. I thought this was Taka’s best game of the season.
for the first time this year, the Caps came out sluggish, almost like they were overwhelmed by the LAFC history- Ocampo got sliced and diced by Bouanga and i was waiting for Jesper to do something- he adjusted the line-up in the second half by subbing out an underperforming Pedro Vite, bringing in Ali Ahmed- Ali’s play tormented the LAFC right side and he brought the Cap game alive and we began to have passing combos, something missing in the first half
our outside defenders- Johnson and Ocampo- got picked frequently in the first half, but did better in the second half- i really like Tate’s feistiness; he sometimes gets beat by his exuberance, but its part of his learning curve- Ocampo is prone to making bad decisions, so i think we will see more of Adekugbe and johnson will move to the right side
Blackmon was outstanding tonight- and what can we say about Brian White? just magical … and deadly like a cobra
i am happy with a 2-2 score – its the type of opposition that the Caps need to overcome the BIG moment jitters for June 1
and Takaoka almost gave up another short side goal and a rebound that the LAFC player should have scored from
Salty
Adekugbe is back on the injury list until June. I suspect Schuster is going to find a way to move him despite his longer deal.
If it wasn’t for Taka LAFC would have taken the game.
Ocampo had his worst game in a ‘Caps shirt today. The penalty comes to mind, but there were times he gave the ball away and wasn’t great serving balls over the top. Not as bad as Raposo might have been, but it bears mentioning.
Conversely, Taka had one of his best games today. Not much he could do on either goal, especially the penalty. Had some fantastic saves near the end, and the one handed block that led to the first goal was great. Good with his feet as per usual, but it bears mentioning.
Typical LAFC refereeing (and Taylor Twellman commentating I hear). It was dubious for both sides until about 10-15 mins to go, then all sense went out the window. I was at the game and I don’t think I’ve seen a Vancouver crowd that livid for awhile.
WE probanly should’ve beat them. Good teams can overcome a bad ref. That being said, I think they did well tonight to come back after going down two early, and did well to hold off LAFC in the 2nd half. I’ll take the draw.
Also, Tate Johnson got whacked at least 5 times tonight, and it’s been fairly consistent these past few matches. Something about him clearly makes attackers have hissy fits. Props to him for sticking through until the end!
LA got away with a stunning amount of diving, it blew my mind. Felt like playing a Mexican team.
the ref tonight was in junior mode – baffling decisions that mostly wenr against the Caps all night and he allowed the flopping and diving to flourish in LAFC’s favor- the worst ref we have seen this year- MLS needs to evaluate his ability
Salty