Saturday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps surrendered the lead twice against DC United, eventually settling for a 2-2 draw. With three of the top teams in the West remaining on their schedule, the Whitecaps will surely be frustrated with their inability to close this match out, as they will need a good points haul over the final three fixtures to secure home playoff … Continue reading Report Card: What’s going on with Takaoka?
Wednesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids, ending their month away from home. While Vancouver will look back on their road trip positively overall, as 11 points from 7 road matches is still an impressive accomplishment, this was a match where the Whitecaps simply ran out of energy against a much inferior team, … Continue reading Report Card: Out of Gas in Colorado
For the second straight match, the Vancouver Whitecaps fell to Western Conference rivals on the road, this time, losing 2-1 at Salt Lake. Let’s have a look at the player grades. Yohei Takaoka: 4.0 That first goal was less than ideal to give up. I saw some blame for the second goal attributed to him as well but it was right on the doorstep so I’m … Continue reading Report Card: Can’t Win ‘Em All
Well, it had to end sometime, didn’t it? The Whitecaps’ impressive road record streak was snapped by the Houston Dynamo this Wednesday in a humbling fashion with a 4-1 scoreline. It was a harsh snap back to reality for a team that was dreaming of finishing the matchday in a second place position. How did the players do though? Yohei Takaoka: 5.5 While set-pieces have … Continue reading Report Card: Fairytale Run Interrupted
Saturday night in Toronto, the Vancouver Whitecaps got the better of Toronto FC with a 2-1 come from behind win at BMO Field. Is this a shocking result the way TFC has looked this season? Not at all. Is it still a good road win for the Whitecaps? Absolutely. Yohei Takaoka: 7.0 I felt Takaoka had a strong performance. Nothing he could do about the … Continue reading Report Card: I’m Not Surprised.
Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, the Vancouver Whitecaps capped off a very successful week on the road with a 1-1 draw against NYCFC, earning themselves seven of a total nine available points from the week. Heading into this brief international break, the Whitecaps have set themselves up well for the rest of their extended road swing, although given how tight proceedings are in the West, … Continue reading Report Card: A Successful Business Trip to NY
The Caps enjoy making things hard on themselves (and us) but they did enough to grab a 3-2 win over Portland Timbers in their penultimate Cascadia derby of the year. There was a lot to like, as the wide players and Ryan Gauld started to click. What does that mean for the report card grades? Scroll on. Yohei Takaoka: 6 A gutsy performance after sustaining … Continue reading Report Card: Gauld & the newcomers shine as Vancouver survives late Portland push
The last match before a long, long road trip for the Caps was not a happy one, with a brief moment of counter attacking efficiency being all San Jose needed to take all three points at BC Place. The first match back from Leagues Cup was a performance where Vancouver will consider themselves wasteful not to get a result — but what does it mean … Continue reading Report Card: Whitecaps’ MLS return doesn’t go as planned
The Whitecaps welcomed Tigres UANL back to BC Place for the first time since their 2017 CCL run. On the night, the Whitecaps struck early and looked dominant in the first half, which was a sight to see. However, they conceded early in the second half on a moment of Gignac magic, and from there on out, looked a little less sure of themselves. In … Continue reading Report Card: Whitecaps exit Leagues Cup with a familiar twist
Sunday night in Los Angeles, the Vancouver Whitecaps secured a 2-1 comeback victory over the LA Galaxy to secure their place in the elimination stage of Leagues Cup. To all those that watched, it was pretty clear that this match was far from a masterpiece for Vancouver, but nonetheless, the Whitecaps were able to get it done when it counted and it is always nice … Continue reading Report Card: They Don’t Ask How…