- The second leg will take place on Tuesday, August 27 at BC Place
- Including all competitions, Ryan Gauld scored his 10th goal of the season for Whitecaps FC. With his goal, Gauld tied the club-record for Canadian Championship goals with four
- Whitecaps FC BMO Academy graduate Jeevan Badwal made his Whitecaps FC first team debut as a second-half substitute
- Belal Halbouni also made his debut for Whitecaps FC as a second-half substitute
- MathÃas Laborda recorded his first assist for Whitecaps FC in all competitions
- Isaac Boehmer recorded his first clean sheet for the first team
LANGFORD, BC – It was a hard-fought affair at Starlight Stadium, as Vancouver Whitecaps FC earned a 1-0 win over Pacific FC to bring the lead back to BC Place going into the second leg of the TELUS Canadian Championship on August 27.
The match began with plenty of energy from both sides. Whitecaps FC got the first shot on target in the opening few minutes, as Ryan Gauld took a first time effort from just outside the box, with the shot bobbling towards Emil Gazdov after taking a deflection. Levonte Johnson had a look from a corner in the 15th minute, after Sebastian Berhalter’s delivery found him at the near post but his header went wide.
Whitecaps FC continued their pressure when Gauld had another big opportunity just minutes later, after Brian White managed to pull the ball back for the Scot right in front of the net. Gauld’s first time shot was blocked before it could cross the line as Pacific cleared the ball.
Pacific FC looked to open their account just after the half-hour mark, as Josh Heard found himself in front of goal and tried to poke it past Isaac Boehmer, but the Canadian 'keeper stood strong. Heard had another brilliant chance five minutes before half, when he received the ball right in front of the six-yard box. Bjørn Inge Utvik made a massive block to deny the Pacific captain from opening the scoring.
The ‘Caps had a flurry of chances right on the brink of halftime, with Johnson having a shot cleared off the line, but would have to go into the break goalless.
The second half began with clear impetus from the ‘Caps. After dominating possession in Pacific’s half, Berhalter sent a beautiful cross towards the back-post for Brian White to pounce on. White smashed a headed effort towards goal but Gazdov pulled out a stunning save to keep the American off the scoreline.
Whitecaps FC’s insistent pressure finally gave way to a goal in the 58th minute, thanks to a wonderful header by Gauld. MathÃas Laborda floated in a cross for Gauld to flick past an outstretched Gazdov and into the side of the net to give the ‘Caps the lead.
Laborda tried to make it a quick-fire double after getting on the end of a corner minutes later, but his flicked effort wasn’t able to get on target.
Ayman Sellouf tried to get his side back in it with a quick strike inside the box but Boehmer was able to smother it.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Sellouf drew another big save from Boehmer as he powered a shot towards the Canadian ‘keeper, who kept his clean sheet.
The Blue and White would see the game out, putting in a professional performance as they go into the second leg with an all-important away goal.
Whitecaps FC are back in action this coming Saturday, July 13 on the road against St. Louis CITY SC at 5:30 p.m. PT. Catch the match live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, or listen live at cknw.com or whitecapsfc.com.
The 'Caps then host two home matches at BC Place in quick succession. First, the club will play Sporting Kansas City during the '80s Match on Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Then, the 11th annual Pride Match will take place on Saturday, July 20 as Whitecaps FC face Houston Dynamo, also at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Attendance: 5,103
Referee: Renzo Villanueva
Scoring Summary
58’ – VAN – Ryan Gauld (MathÃas Laborda)
Statistics
Possession: PAC 39.2% - VAN 60.8%
Shots: PAC 12 - VAN 18
Shots on Goal: PAC 5 - VAN 5
Saves: PAC 3 - VAN 5
Fouls: PAC 10 - VAN 7
Offsides: PAC 0 - VAN 2
Corners: PAC 4 - VAN 6
Cautions
45’ – VAN – Bjørn Inge Utvik
71’ – VAN – Brian White
82’ – PAC – Cedric Toussaint
Pacific FC
1.Emil Gazdov; 13.Kunle Dada-Luke, 5.Juan Quintana, 26.Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, 3.Eric Lajuenesse; 8.Pierre Lamothe (21.Aymen Sellouf 67’), 20.Sean Young, 28.Cedric Toussaint; 7.Steffan Yates; 12.Reon Moore (9.Dario Zanatta 80’), 11.Josh Heard (2.Georges Mukumbilwa 71’)
Substitutes not used
55.Sean Melvin, 4.Paul Amedume, 18.Zachary Bahous, 88.Andrei Tircoveanu
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
32.Isaac Boehmer; 2.MathÃas Laborda, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 15.Bjørn Inge Utvik; 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 13.Ralph Priso (45.Pedro Vite 64’), 20.Andrés Cubas (59.Jeevan Badwal 88’), 8.Alessandro Schöpf (27.Giuseppe Bovalina 64’); 25.Ryan Gauld (19.Damir Kreilach 75’), 24.Brian White, 28.Levonte Johnson (12.Belal Halbouni 88’)
Substitutes not used
1.Yohei Takaoka, 11.Fafa Picault
