The Vancouver Whitecaps killed a giant on Saturday.
The Caps came in below the playoff line in the Major League Soccer Western Conference and appeared to be in a tough spot as they hosted league leaders Los Angeles FC, a team that has dominated just about every club. on his way this season.
While LA controlled the game for much of the first half, Vancouver came on strong in the second.
An 89th-minute goal from newcomer Andrés Cubas gave the home team a crucial 1–0 victory.
“We played really well,” Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini said.
“It’s not just today, it’s game after game after game.”
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After starting the season with a 1-6-1 record, the Caps have turned their campaign around, going 6-2-2 in MLS since the beginning of May.
The club also won three rounds in the Canadian Championship and will face Toronto FC in the final on July 26.
Goalie Cody Cropper recorded his third straight clean sheet on Saturday.
He now has four on the season and the Caps haven’t conceded a goal in MLS since June 14.
“I think the stats speak for themselves,” Whitecaps defenseman Tristan Blackmon said.
“We’ve been in really good shape lately.”
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Vancouver outshot LA 10 to seven over the course of Saturday’s game, including two shots on goal.
The visitors did not have a single shot on goal.
Cubas, a Paraguayan international who signed with the Whitecaps in late April, hit the game-winner in the 89th minute, taking the ball off his chest at the top of the penalty area and sending a right-footed shot over the top of the penalty area. LAFC goalie. Maxime Crepeau.
“It was great that I stayed in that position at the top of the box,” Cubas said through a translator.
“I saw the opening in the corner of the goal and luckily it all worked out in the end.”
Getting a third consecutive shutout shows how the entire Whitecaps team has been working together defensively, Blackmon said.
“We put three clean sheets in a row. And that’s very difficult, especially in this league,” he said.
“It shows the determination of the guys in the back as well as the guys in the front. It’s a cohesive thing. It’s a group effort.”
Both teams will return to action on Friday, with the Whitecaps hosting Minnesota United and LAFC entertaining the LA Galaxy.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 2, 2022.
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