The Vancouver Whitecaps took out weeks of frustration on a helpless FC Dallas side, dominating from the opening whistle in a 5-0 win that will send them back to the top of the Western Conference.

A first-half barrage of goals saw Brian White nab a brace, while Edier Ocampo and Emmanuel Sabbi also got on the score sheet. Bruno Caicedo truly buried the match with the fifth in the second half, but at that point, Dallas were just waiting and praying for the match to be over.

Jesper Sørensen went with probably his strongest possible XI. White returned to the lineup alongside Sabbi, Thomas Müller, and Ryan Gauld in the attack — the first time all four of those players have lined up alongside each other this season. Ralph Priso came into the lineup as well, slotting in as a centerback next to Tristan Blackmon. Dallas opted to rest most of their starters, with Golden Boot favorite Petar Musa starting on the bench.

The match was not short on entertainment early, with Gauld nearly chipping keeper Jonathan Sirois seconds into the match. Yohei Takaoka had to stay alert at his end, however, being forced to come well off his line to cut out a beautiful through ball with a perfectly timed tackle on Sam Sarver.

But it ultimately took Vancouver only 10 minutes to open the scoring. A well-worked Caps attack resulted in a corner kick and while the initial ball from Ryan Gauld was cleared, it found its way to Sabbi at the top of the box. The perfectly placed shot slid past a helpless Sirois to give Vancouver an early lead that they would never relinquish.

Dallas clearly got the memo that Sørensen likes to play a high defensive line, with lots of probing through balls designed to pierce Priso and Blackmon and play Sarver or Logan Farrington into acres of space. This kept the backline busy and forced some risky challenges at times to try and deny 1v1s at the back.

The Hoops also bulked up on the press, messing up the spacing for Dallas in the process, and leaving the away side scrambling as the Caps were able to advance at will into the opposition’s attacking third.

The second goal was vintage Sørensen-ball. Edier Ocampo collected a beautiful aerial through ball from Tristan Blackmon and blew by Nolan Norris. At that point, the right back only had to pick up his head and find White in the box, who buried his shot from close range.

White easily could have had a second in quick succession, with another perfect long ball from Oliver Larraz playing the striker in on goal. Norris did enough to recover and block the shot this time, however, temporarily denying White a brace. Dallas followed things up with their first real chance on the other end, with Joshua Torquato letting Vancouver off the hook from close range.

He didn’t stay off the scoresheet for long, however. It was another set piece that bore fruit for Vancouver. Once again, Dallas failed to defend a nicely designed corner kick routine, and White volleyed the limp clearance, thumping it into the roof of the net to make it 3-0.

Meanwhile, Priso breathed a sigh of relief shortly before the half, when he appeared to haul down Sarver in the box. After a lengthy VAR check (and plenty of complaining from Sarver), no penalty was forthcoming. It appeared that Sarver kicked Priso’s legs, causing the two to come together, which may have been what left the defender off the hook.

But wait, there’s more! Shortly before the halftime whistle blew, the Caps got a fourth. A long ball from Andres Cubas seemed like it was going out of play, but Ocampo managed to get his head on it to chip Sirois a very tight angle. Ocampo deserved the goal after starting the move with a crunching challenge on Farrington, and it capped a great half from the right back.

The lone black mark on the first half was Priso sustaining an ankle injury, causing him to be subbed off at the half for Mathias Laborda. Dallas introduced much of their first choice attack, bringing on Musa and four other starters to try and jump-start their fortunes.

Dallas opened with more energy and a bit more possession as the subs tried to create something. But this also opened up more space for the Caps, who had some really lovely moves that captivated the BC Place faithful. Gauld, who was excellent in the first half as well, pulled the strings in the center of the park and was at the center of nearly every move forward. He could have had a goal of his own on several occasions.

Soon, things returned to where they were in the first half: a relentless Vancouver attack gave the Dallas backline no rest, with few forays into the Caps’ half. After smothering Dallas with several minutes’ worth of possession, Müller laid things off for the substitute Bruno Caicedo with a little flick and Caicedo decided to get in on the fun with Vancouver’s fifth goal.

Stray Thoughts

• Well, that was a blast.
• This was as dominate performance as we’ve seen in the Jesper Sørensen era, rivaling the Philadelphia and Minnesota beatdowns. Dallas had two good chances and could have had a penalty at the end of both halves but otherwise they struggled to retain the ball in the Vancouver half, much less create anything. The Caps were buzzing up and down the pitch, smothering Dallas with their counter-press and dominating every physical duel. Sure, Dallas rotated most of their team, but the mentality was fantastic.
• The quality of the build up was fantastic and truly a sign that Ryan Gauld and Thomas Müller have finally figured out how to co-exist. Müller had several delicate, incisive through balls to feed the wide players, while Gauld worked with Edier Ocampo to toy with the Dallas backline. In the second half, both men were at the center of some truly beautiful moves, trying flicks and touches to destroy any life left in a demoralized Dallas side. The next few weeks will necessitate more rotation, but at full strength, this team has plenty of firepower, and the rest of the league is now officially on notice.
• Ocampo deserves a special shoutout. He has been absolutely fantastic all season, and tonight underscored his growth as a two-way player. His goal began with a perfectly timed challenge and ended with a cheeky chip of the keeper. He read the game well and has great chemistry with Gauld. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ocampo is the next Whitecaps player headed to Europe, and it would be totally deserved.
• It is pretty fun to bring on players like Bruno Caicedo off of the bench. The youngster continues to look fantastic in his cameos and is now up to six goal involvements on the season.
• Despite the relative malaise that his plagued the Caps as of late, they actually are ahead of pace when compared with last season. The Supporters Shield is teetering on the edge of being out of reach, but this team showed tonight that the path to winning the West will run through BC Place.

Man of the Match

Picking one player to single out is tough but, for me, it is a three-way tie for man of the match. White could have had four goals in this one and looked like his old self. Ocampo dominated up and down the pitch, with a goal and an assist almost understating his influence on the match. And while Müller didn’t have the counting stats, he put up four key passes and finally got a well-earned assist on the final goal.