ST.LOUIS, MO – Vancouver Whitecaps FC battled hard but fell just short as they dropped a 3-1 result to expansion side St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday at CITYPARK in St. Louis, Missouri.
The home side had the first big chance of the match, as Nicholas Gioacchini's effort from close range was saved at the near post by 'Caps goalkeeper Thomas Hasal.
In the 10th minute of the match, St. Louis City SC were given a free kick opportunity. Midfielder Eduard Löwen’s effort from distance curled its way into the top right corner of the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, the 'Caps conjured up a quick passing sequence in the hopes of getting their equalizer. After Pedro Vite won the ball back and played quick one-two with Julian Gressel, Simon Becher played in the U.S. international on goal but his shot towards the far post was blocked by St. Louis centre back Tim Parker.
St. Louis would double their lead right before the halftime interval via an own goal.
The 'Caps continued to push for a goal and came close via substitute Brian White, who got on the end of a cross from Gressel and directed his header just wide of the target.
Fast forward to the 73rd minute, Ryan Gauld got on the end of a loose ball and unleashed a left-footed strike towards goal, forcing a save from St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
Moments later, the Blue and White had another chance from a corner kick. Gressel whipped an inswinger into Ranko Veselinović, who's header went just wide of the far post and out of the reach of a stretching Brian White.
The 'Caps made their pressure count, as Gressel whipped a cross into the box for White, heading his effort past Bürki to score his seventh goal of the season across all competitions and giving Vancouver some life.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Miguel Perez grabbed St. Louis' third goal of the match from close range.
The 'Caps now return home for a four-game homestand at BC Place, starting with a Western Conference clash against Houston Dynamo FC on Wednesday, May 31. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at www.whitecapsfc.com/tickets/.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Sergii Boiko
Scoring Summary10’ – STL – Eduard Löwen
45' – STL – Tristan Blackmon (own goal)
83' – VAN – Brian White (Julian Gressel)
90+4' – STL – Miguel Perez
Statistics
Possession: STL 38.4% – VAN 61.6%
Shots: STL 15 – VAN 12
Shots on Goal: STL 6 – VAN 2
Saves: STL 1 – VAN 4
Fouls: STL 11 – VAN 12
Offsides: STL 2 – VAN 3
Corners: STL 7 – VAN 5
Cautions
20’ – STL – Jake Nerwinski
22’ – STL – Tim Parker
60’ – STL – Jared Stroud
90+3' – VAN – Julian Gressel
90+3' – VAN – Ryan Gauld
St. Louis City SC
1.Roman Bürki ©; 2.Jake Nerwinski (14.John Nelson 63'), 24.Lucas Bartlett, 26.Tim Parker, 22.Kyle Hiebert; 6.Njabulo Blom, 10.Eduard Löwen; 8.Jared Stroud (7.Tomás Ostrák 72'), 19.Indiana Vassilev (23.Jonathan Bell 90+2'), 12.Célio Pompeu (28.Miguel Perez 72'); 11.Nicholas Gioacchini (25.Aziel Jackson 90+3')
Substitutes not used
39.Ben Lundt, 15.Joshua Yaro, 20.Akil Watts, 30.Isak Jensen
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Thomas Hasal; 23.Javain Brown (9.Sergio Córdova 65'), 4.Ranko Veselinović, 6.Tristan Blackmon, 14.Luís Martins; 19.Julian Gressel, 16.Sebastian Berhalter (7.Déiber Caicedo 57'), 8.Alessandro Schöpf (28.Levonte Johnson 85'); 45.Pedro Vite (20.Andrés Cubas 65'), 25.Ryan Gauld ©; 29.Simon Becher (24.Brian White 57')
Substitutes not used
18.Yohei Takaoka, 2.Mathías Laborda, 27.Ryan Raposo
