The Vancouver Whitecaps opened their 2026 campaign with a 0-0 draw against Cartaginés in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The ’Caps played relatively well but did not win. Them’s the breaks sometimes. How did the individual players get on? Yohei Takaoka: 6.0 Cartaginés didn’t have a single shot on target, so there was not much to judge Takaoka on. His distribution was pretty spot on, and … Continue reading Report Card: Pura Vida, Cero Goles

Saturday in Florida, the Vancouver Whitecaps contested their first ever MLS Cup Final, as they fell by a final score of 3-1 to Inter Miami. The final score only tells a very small part of the story, as this was a match that was incredibly entertaining and well contested throughout, and it was only when Miami scored an insurance marker deep into extra time that … Continue reading Report Card: Cup Final Blues

Saturday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps finally made it past LAFC in the playoffs, grinding out a 2-2 (4-3) result through a penalty shootout to advance to their first Conference Final in the MLS era. It was a match full of rollercoaster emotions. Vancouver cruised through the first 45 minutes, up two goals and looking untouchable. The inevitable second-half adjustments followed, and although … Continue reading Report Card: An Instant Classic

The Vancouver Whitecaps demolished FC Dallas 3-0 in the first of their three game series. Let’s look at how individual players performed. Yohei Takaoka:  7.0 Different data sources differ on if FC Dallas registered a shot in this game (I think some are mistakenly still counting an offside shot) but Takaoka was untroubled in either case. His passing, however, was excellent as always. Edier Ocampo: 9.0 … Continue reading Report Card: No-Hitter

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 … Continue reading Report Card: The Playoff Preview

Saturday in Orlando, the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Orlando City, as the Whitecaps took a big step closer to securing the top seed in the Western Conference. Orlando had some good spells of play in the opening 30 minutes, but after that, it was one-way traffic in Vancouver’s favour. At the final whistle, the stats were telling, as the … Continue reading Report Card: Last Minute Chaos!

Sunday afternoon at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps controlled proceedings against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes in a comprehensive 4-1 victory. With the win, the Whitecaps have kept their campaign for the top spot in the West alive, as they now have just two matches left to go in the regular season. Alright, without further delay, over to the player ratings: Yohei Takaoka – 7.0 … Continue reading Report Card: Pushing for top of the West

Vancouver managed an impressive result on the road in Seattle Saturday night, as an eventful second half led to a 2-2 draw. Let’s take a look at the player ratings from this one. Yohei Takaoka: 8.0 I thought Takaoka did quite well at marshalling his makeshift backline. He had to do a lot of work in the air, something that is usually a weakness for … Continue reading Report Card: Centrebacks are a Social Construct