Teenager Jeevan Badwal scored his first MLS goal as the host Vancouver Whitecaps extended their unbeaten streak to a franchise-record 11 matches with a bizarre 3-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday night.
Daniel Rios and Damir Kreilach also scored for the MLS-leading Whitecaps (10-1-5, 35 points), who are 6-0-5 during their run.
While the Whitecaps entered the Cascadia Cup showdown short-handed, with nine players away for international duty and several others, including Badwal, questionable after a gastrointestinal illness swept through the team after a trip to Mexico City for last weekend’s 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul in last weekend’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final, the Sounders (7-6-5, 26 points) finished Sunday’s match with nine players on the pitch.
Sounders defenders Nouhou Tolo and Johnathan Bell were issued red cards three minutes apart early in the second half by referee Ricardo Fierro for denying goal-scoring opportunities.
Nouhou practically tackled Mathias Laborda just outside the top right corner of the 18-yard box in the 52nd minute, with the Sounders offering no complaints. The same couldn’t be said for the second call, as Bell inadvertently clipped the heel of Emmanuel Sabbi about 20 yards from the net.
The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the 40th minute. Edier Ocampo sent a pass to Jean Claude Ngando on the left side of the penalty area. Ngando cut a pass back toward the middle of the pitch, where Badwal stunned the Sounders with a one-timer into the net. Badwal, 19, was making just his second career start.
Rios helped clinch the victory with a 20-yard strike into the upper left corner of the net in the 70th minute.
Kreilach, who came on for Badwal midway through the second half, scored from the penalty spot in the 88th minute after Sabbi was tripped by Seattle’s Joao Paulo.
The Sounders had a couple of quality scoring chances in the first half, with both of those attempts just missing wide of the right post. The first came on a volley by Alex Roldan in the second minute from just outside the top of the 6-yard box. The second came on a 15-yard shot by Pedro de la Vega from the left side of the penalty area in the 31st minute.
–Field Level Media
