The Vancouver Whitecaps played the NY Red Bulls last night in a hard fought 1-1 draw last night. With that result the ‘Caps slid down to third place in the Western Conference, behind LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, who both have 18 points. The NY Bulls also slid down to third place behind Inter Miami, 21 points, and FC Cincinnati, 18 points.

The formation used by Whitecaps head coach Vinni Sartini was the 3-4-3 that has been used all year. This time however it didn’t sway in the advantage of the ‘Caps, as they struggled for possession all game, and conceded 16 shots, nine of which were on target, which was the second most all season. Despite not having much of the ball, the Whitecaps made the most of the time they did have with it. Ryan Raposo cut the ball across the Red Bulls 18-yard box and Brian White was there to flick home his 44th goal as a Whitecap, making history by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer for the Whitecaps in the MLS era.

https://www.twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/1784411891613499596

After the goal, White had another opportunity to double the lead, however was denied by NY goalie, Carlos Coronel. The attacking onslaught from NY continued for much of the game, as Vancouver goalie Yohei Takaoka was called into action many times, racking up eight total saves throughout the night. The Red Bulls had numerous other chances to get through on goal, but they were denied by the likes of Ranko Veselinović, Mathías Laborda and Tristan Blackmon in defence. The first half ended 1-0 for Vancouver, after a last minute free kick for the ‘Caps was struck into the defending wall by Sebastian Berhalter. The second half began the same as the first, with the Whitecaps being under constant pressure from NY. Vancouver defended well for the first ten minutes of the game, but after a dangerous corner was all NY needed for forward Lewis Morgan to tie the game at 1-1 in the 56th minute. The pressure continued for the majority of the game, with both teams having great chances to take the lead. White had an opportunity taken away not long after the NY goal, but his chance was cleared away by defender Daniel Edelman. On the other side, Veselinović made a terrific sliding tackle to take away an opportunity from forward Dante Vanzeir. Things remained the same until the 74th minute, when NY defender Noah Elie was given a red card for using his hand in a clear goal scoring opportunity from captain Ryan Gauld. Despite the ‘Caps throwing everything they had at NY with the man advantage, the game remained 1-1 and ended in a draw.

https://www.twitter.com/WhitecapsFC/status/1784397735510041053

The Whitecaps now come back to BC Place for a game against Austin FC, who just beat LA Galaxy 2-0 this weekend. Kickoff is 7:30pm PST on May 4th.