Reyna strikes late as ’Caps cool off N.Y. City
VANCOUVER — Forward Yordy Reyna scored on a pretty header in the 88th minute as the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated New York City FC 3-2 in a Major League Soccer match Wednesday night that saw several momentum swings.
A sellout crowd of 22,120 at B.C. Place Stadium watched the Whitecaps take an early lead, fall behind before half time, then battle back to earn the win. A total of eight yellow cards were handed out, five to Vancouver.
Striker Fredy Montero and defender Jordan Harvey also scored for the Whitecaps.
Striker David Villa, on a penalty kick, and defender Maxime Chanot scored for New York City.
Reyna, playing his first game in Vancouver after missing most of the season with a broken foot, scored his first goal of the year when he directed a cross from fullback Jakob Nerwinski past goalkeeper Eirik Johansen.
Harvey had tied the game in the 54th minute when midfielder Christian Bolanos sent a ball into the box. Harvey, charging up from his left fullback position, scored with an inside left-foot shot.
The win gives the Whitecaps 24 points from a 7-7-3 record. They move into a tie with the Seattle Sounders for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
New York City FC had its fourgame win streak snapped. They remain third in the Eastern Conference with a 10-6-3 record for 33 points.
The Whitecaps had lost their two previous meetings against third-year New York City FC.
A heads-up play by Vancouver midfielder Brek Shea resulted in Montero scoring just three minutes into the game. Shea took the ball off Chanot’s feet, then fed a pass to a streaking Montero. He beat Johansen with a low shot for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Chanot made amends by tying the game in the 34th minute. The play started with a corner kick from midfielder Andrea Pirio. Defender R. J. Allen kicked the ball toward the net where Vancouver ’keeper David Ousted made the save. The ball squirted loose and Chanot scored with a leftfooted shot.
New York went ahead 2-1 off Villa’s goal in the 40th minute. Referee Baldomero Toledo drew the wrath of the BC Place crowd by showing a yellow card and awarding the penalty after Whitecap defender Kendall Waston clipped New York’s Thomas McNamara in the face with his right forearm, which was covered in a cast. McNamara and Ousted collided on the play, leaving both players laying on the pitch for several minutes.