Saturday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps dropped their decision day match to FC Dallas by a score of 2-1, falling to second in the West and setting the table for these two teams to meet again starting next weekend in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Most of this match was marred by an early red card decision, so true evaluations are a bit difficult. That being said, I do think this match gave us some good talking points going into a best of three series between these two sides. Without further delay, on we go to the player ratings.

Yohei Takaoka – 8.0

Yohei made a great 1v1 save with Dallas in on the break that kept the match tight right at the end of the first half. Overall, I think he’s looked very sharp in recent matches, both with the ball at his feet (obviously), but also being more assertive in those 50/50 moments.

Tate Johnson – 6.5

He lost out in the air on Dallas’ opening goal, but I don’t think that’s a battle you expect him to win. The ability for fullbacks to drive forwards was much reduced down a man, but I still thought his play was solid.

Mathias Laborda – 5.0

We could certainly litigate the red card all day long, but either way, Mathias needs to know better than to dive in there. If not for the risk of going down a man in this match, then at the very least for avoiding any possibility of being suspended for the playoffs.

Belal Halbouni – 6.5

He did a pretty decent job as the only natural CB on the pitch, but he definitely was a bit lost at times, including leading up to Dallas’ second goal.

Edier Ocampo – 6.0

A bit of a scruffy showing from Edier, who was called for a yellow card in the second minute and never really got involved with the Whitecaps down to 10 men.

Sebastian Berhalter – 6.5

The young American looked a bit off in this one. He was caught out of position a couple of times defensively and completed just 3 of his 17 crosses.

Andres Cubas – 7.0

There was a good amount of interrupting for Cubas to do, especially in the first half with Vancouver reeling from the red card, and Cubas did very well in those moments.

Emmanuel Sabbi – 6.5

With the game stretched in the first half, Sabbi was able to use his pace to good effect, as he drew the penalty kick, which was a huge moment for the home side.

Thomas Müller – 7.0

He converted another goal from the penalty spot and had two other looks from the edge of the area. His presence was also key to keeping up the attacking pressure as Vancouver pushed for a tying goal in the second half, even though it never quite came together.

Ali Ahmed – 7.0

The Canadian had a lot of joy in space and drew a number of fouls and played in some very nice passes following his runs. There were a couple of moments where he definitely should have earned a foul, but to no avail.

Daniel Rios – N/A

Rios exited the match when Laborda was sent off, and at that point he had only two touches.

Substitutes – 6.5

Both Priso and Badwal had solid showings out of position, and Vancouver was quite dominant in the second half with them on the pitch. Elloumi had a golden chance in front of goal to tie the game, but he was not able to find the target. It was nice to see Gauld and Cabrera in the mix as well.

Alright, those were my thoughts from decision day. Let me know yours in the comments, as always.