- A season-high crowd of 25,465 attended the match at BC Place
- Sebastian Berhalter continued his early contention for MLS MVP with a winning goal in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time. The goal was his fourth of the season across all competitions, and his eighth goal contribution (4G, 4A)
- Thomas Müller scored his third goal of the season
- Édier Ocampo scored his first goal of the season, and second goal contribution (1G, 1A)
- Yohei Takaoka recorded his first assist of the season, and third of his Whitecaps FC career
- Whitecaps FC remain undefeated under head coach Jesper Sørensen in MLS play when scoring first 22W-0L-4D
VANCOUVER, BC – Fans were treated to a five-goal thriller at BC Place on Saturday, as Vancouver Whitecaps FC came back late to defeat Portland Timbers 3-2 after a last-minute winner from Sebastian Berhalter.
It was a stunning start for Whitecaps FC, as they opened the scoring inside six minutes. ‘Caps ‘keeper Yohei Takaoka hit a first time through ball from his own box to send Édier Ocampo in behind the Portland defence. The wingback took the ball past the onrushing Portland ‘keeper James Pantemis and rolled it into the empty net to make it 1-0.
Cheikh Sabaly nearly made it 2-0 less than 10 minutes later, after Thomas Müller headed it across goal for Sabaly to latch onto in the box, but his shot was deflected wide by Pantemis. Takaoka then made a big save just minutes later, denying Antony from a close angle.
Müller almost doubled the lead in the 23rd minute after Tate Johnson went on a dizzying run into the box, with the ball popping up for Müller to volley just wide. The ‘Caps kept pressing Portland deeper into their own box, threatening with shots from various angles as they searched for a second goal.
Despite intense pressure, Portland managed to equalize in the 36th minute through Juan Mosquera, who volleyed it into the back of the net to make it all square 1-1.
Takaoka made another save to keep Whitecaps FC level minutes later, stopping a point-blank header from Kevin Kelsy. However, right before half, Portland flipped the script and took the lead in added time through David Da Costa, who slipped in behind and chipped it over Takaoka to make it 2-1.
Whitecaps FC began the second half brightly, immediately forcing Portland into a low block as the whole team pressed forward. Brian White had a good chance to bring the ‘Caps back on level terms off a corner, rising the highest and directing his header down towards goal, but it bounced into Pantemis’ hands.
Emmanuel Sabbi was inches away from scoring the all-important equalizer in the 63rd minute after Jeevan Badwal found the striker running in behind, but Sabbi was unable to get good contact on his shot to put it past Pantemis.
The ‘Caps kept pushing as the half went on, entrenching themselves in Portland’s half as they poked and probed at their defence. Tristan Blackmon had a look off a free kick, but his header at the back post looped up for Pantemis to claim. Rayan Elloumi had a golden opportunity in the 85th minute, picking the ball up in the middle of the park and darting into Portland's box, but right before he could pull the trigger, Portland were able to close him down and block the chance.
However, Whitecaps FC were given a lifeline in the 89th minute, as the referee called for a penalty in the ‘Caps favour. Müller stepped up and smashed it to the the left of Pantemis to bring it back to 2-2.
Then deep into injury time, with the game on the line, Berhalter rose to the occasion and curled a shot from the edge of the box to send BC Place into delirium, sealing a 3-2 comeback victory for the ages.
Whitecaps FC are back in action on Saturday, April 11 as they host Eastern Conference side New York City FC. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Attendance: 25,465
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Scoring Summary
6’ – VAN – Édier Ocampo (Yohei Takaoka, MathÃas Laborda)
36’ – POR – Juan Mosquera
45’+2 – POR – David Da Costa (Juan Mosquera)
90’+1 – VAN – Thomas Müller (penalty kick)
90’+5 – VAN – Sebastian Berhalter
Statistics
Possession: VAN 61.1% - POR 38.9%
Shots: VAN 22 - POR 9
Shots on Goal: VAN 9 - POR 4
Saves: VAN 2 - POR 6
Fouls: VAN 15 - POR 11
Offsides: VAN 2 - POR 1
Corners: VAN 7 - POR 2
Cautions
68’ – VAN – MathÃas Laborda
80’ – POR – Diego Chara
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 18.Édier Ocampo, 33.Tristan Blackmon, 2.MathÃas Laborda, 28.Tate Johnson; 59.Jeevan Badwal (19.Rayan Elloumi 82’), 16.Sebastian Berhalter; 7.Cheikh Sabaly (14.Bruno Caicedo 71’), 13.Thomas Müller ©, 22.AZ (11.Emmanuel Sabbi HT); 24.Brian White
Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 8.Oliver Larraz, 15.Sebastian Schonlau, 17.Kenji Cabrera, 26.J.C. Ngando, 29.Mihail Gherasimencov
Portland Timbers
41.James Pantemis; 29.Juan Mosquera (5.Brandon Bye HT), 20.Finn Surman, 6.Alex Bonetig, 27.Jimer Fory; 80.Julio Ortiz (21.Diego Chara 77’), 10.David Da Costa, 30.José Caicedo; 11.Antony, 19.Kevin Kelsy (9.Felipe Mora 65’), 99.Kristoffer Velde (28.Alexander Aravena 82’)
Substitutes not used
25.Trey Muse, 7.Ariel Lassiter, 15.Eric Miller, 23.Ian Smith, 88.Gage Guerra