San Diego FC may have gotten one over on the Whitecaps in the regular season, but Vancouver made it quickly apparent that they weren’t going to let that happen in the postseason, delivering a comprehensive 3–1 win this past Saturday. Vancouver blitzed the expansion side in the first half behind a brace from Brian White and managed to avoid any sort of repeat of the … Continue reading Report Card: One More Match
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
Anyone’s pulse still racing? It was a wild affair on Saturday night in Frisco but, no matter how ugly it might have been, the Whitecaps survived and advanced. It is a shame that what could have been an entertaining, absorbing match turned into WWE Smackdown but Vancouver won’t be complaining. Nonetheless, it makes for a tricky game to evaluate. The Caps didn’t really click until … Continue reading Report Card: They don’t ask how you did it
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
A late equaliser from Brian White on his return from injury saw Vancouver Whitecaps snatch a dramatic 1-1 draw with Portland Timbers in a crucial clash at the top of the MLS standings. Portland started the game on top as they tormented the Whitecaps’ makeshift backline, but a string of saves from Yohei Takaoka kept his team in the game. However, his heroics were in … Continue reading Report Card: Guess Who’s Back
A scintillating first-half display was enough for the Vancouver Whitecaps to earn a vital 2-0 victory over Western Conference bottom-feeders Sporting Kansas City. In a fashion very similar to the way they dismantled Philadelphia Union and Forge FC, in the opening 45 minutes, Vancouver tore Kansas apart. Some sensational creative play made goals for Edier Ocampo and Kenji Cabrera, who were able to capitalize on … Continue reading Report Card: A Big First Half