VANCOUVER — It's a question that Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini would like to find an answer for.
The Whitecaps played one of their best games of the season in a 2-0 win over rival Seattle Sounders Saturday night that extended Vancouver’s home unbeaten streak to six Major League Soccer games.
If the Whitecaps can play this well at BC Place Stadium, why are they winless on the road in MLS play?
“It’s a question that I asked myself too,” said Sartini. “There’s a bunch of things that I think we need to really work mentally on.
“What the players do here in order to prepare for the game and what the players do when we’re in a different environment when we go away.”
Midfielder Pedro Vite scored late in the first half, then Vancouver took a 2-0 lead early in the second when Seattle scored an own goal resulting from a blistering shot by midfielder Ryan Gauld.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made a leaping save in the 65th minute to send a header from Seattle midfielder Albert Rusnak over top of the net, bringing a roar from the crowd of 19,108.
The Whitecaps are 4-1-2 at home after losing their first match of the season but are 0-3-3 on the road.
“If we knew the answer to that things would be different on the road,” said Gauld, who is still looking for his first MLS goal of the season. “It’s tough to put my finger on.
“When we’re at home it seems like we're more aggressive. It feels on the pitch like we’re a lot more comfortable. To end the season in a good position we’re going to need wins on the road. It feels like a long time since we won on the road.”
The Sounders came into the game having won three of their last six games on the road.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted,” said striker Fredy Montero. “I’ve been in MLS long enough and I know that sometimes you have this moment in the season where you have bad results.
“Hopefully we go back home, and we have one more week to think about what we didn’t do well and hopefully we can get the next result.”
Vite opened the scoring in the 44th minute. Defender Ali Ahmed looped a shot that landed in front of the goal. Vite fought through Seattle midfielder Alex Roldan to send a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. It was Vite’s third goal across all competitions and second in MLS play this season.
Gauld, who was questionable for the game due to left hamstring tightness, looked to have made it 2-0 in the 58th minute. He took a pass from defender Luis Martins and fired a low, hard shot to the corner of the net. Officials ruled Frei stopped the initial shot but the ball hit the post then hit him before entering the net.
Sartini said the call was unfair to both Gauld and Frei.
“I know that technically it’s an own goal, but it counts as Ryan’s goal,” he said. “Overall, I think it was Ryan’s best performance of the season.”
Gauld shrugged when asked about the play.
“It is what it is,” he said. “I’ve never really been one to care about statistics. At least we got the three points.”
Vancouver began the night in ninth place, sitting on the fringe of the playoff standings. The win improved the Whitecaps to 17 points (4-4-5) and leapfrogged them into seventh place in the MLS Western Conference.
The Sounders (7-5-2) are second in the West with 23 points, two points behind the Los Angeles FC, which edged the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday night.
Sartini was pleased the Whitecaps “smashed” one of the best teams in MLS.
“It reminded us how good we are when we are doing things that we’re supposed to do,” he said. “I think 2-0 was generous for them.
“I’ve very happy because we played really well.”
The Whitecaps came close to opening the scoring in the 27th minute. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter threaded a pass to Gauld who sent a shot just wide of the net. Earlier in the half, Berhalter launched a shot from the top of the box that squirted by the corner of the net before defender Javain Brown could get a foot on it.
NOTES
It was the 149th meeting between Vancouver and Seattle. The Sounders lead the series 72-52-25. … Montero had two stints with the Whitecaps, first in 2017 then in 2019-20. … Vancouver’s Ranko Veselinović missed the game due to personal reasons. … The Whitecaps returned home after losing road games to Portland and Dallas by a combined 5-2 score. … The Whitecaps play three of their next four MLS games at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2023.
Jim Morris, The Canadian Press
