Whitecaps blanked by LAFC
VANCOUVER (CP) — The Vancouver Whitecaps gave up a pair of second-half goals in a 2-0 loss to Los Angeles Football Club on Friday night.
That snapped Vancouver’s 11-game Major League Soccer home unbeaten streak.
Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi scored for the expansion LAFC (3-2-0). Costa Rican forward Marco Urena assisted on both goals as Los Angeles ended a two-game losing streak.
The defeat, before a crowd of 22,120 at BC Place Stadium, marked the first time in over a year Vancouver lost back-toback games. The Whitecaps (3-3-1) were beaten 2-1 on the road by Real Salt Lake last Saturday.
Vela put LAFC ahead 1-0 in the 59th minute. Left alone in the box, the shifty forward was fed the ball by Urena and launched a rainbow shot that arched into the top right-hand corner of the net. That broke a LAFC scoreless streak of 202 minutes.
Rossi took advantage of some poor Whitecaps’ clearing attempts to score in the 70th minute. Vela and Rossi have four goals each on the season.
The Whitecaps played without striker Kei Kamara, who suffered an injury during training Thursday. He was replaced by Erik Hurtado.
Both teams had good scoring chances in the scoreless first half. In the 17th minute, Whitecaps’ midfielder Felipe fed a ball to forward Alphonso Davies, who blasted a left-footed shot that L.A. goalkeeper Tyler Miller stopped. Later, forward Cristian Techera, playing in his 100th game as a Whitecap, launched a long ball that Miller blocked.
LAFC came close in the 28th minute when defender Walker Zimmerman’s header hit the crossbar. Not long after, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye fired a right-footed shot from inside the box that Vancouver keeper Stefan Marinovic stopped.
NOTES: Prior to the game, defender Jordan Harvey, who signed with LAFC as a free agent, was honoured for his 179 appearances with the Whitecaps. He leads the franchise in minutes played.