Dayne St. Clair made three saves as visiting Minnesota United moved into a tie for second place in the Western Conference with a 0-0 draw against the first-place Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night.
Yohei Takaoka finished with one save for his seventh clean sheet for Vancouver (9-1-5, 32 points), which extended its point streak to 15 matches in all competitions. The draw also extended the Whitecaps’ MLS unbeaten streak to 10 games, tying the team record set from July-September 2021.
The Whitecaps now head to Mexico City to face Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final Sunday night.
It was an MLS-leading eighth clean sheet for St. Clair. The Loons (7-3-6, 27 points), who extended their unbeaten streak to four games (2-0-2) and also moved into a tie with San Diego FC, a 1-0 loser to the Seattle Sounders earlier Wednesday night, for second place.
Vancouver controlled the action during a scoreless first half, finishing with a 59-41 percent edge in possession and attempting 10 shots to just two for the Loons. Whitecaps midfielder Jean-Claude Ngando had the best scoring chance in the 32nd minute, a right-footed shot outside the box that a diving St. Clair easily saved by the bottom left corner of the net.
The Whitecaps, who finished with a 21-4 edge in shot attempts, had the two best scoring chances after halftime. Defender Ranko Veselinovic had a header from the edge of the six-yard box off a Ngando cross in the 77th minute that sealed over the top of the goal. Three minutes later, Jayden Nelson, who finished with five shot attempts, took a Brian White pass in the middle of the box and slammed a right-footed shot that a sprawling St. Clair turned away.
Vancouver finished with a 56.4-43.6 advantage of possession and an 8-0 edge in corner kicks.
–Field Level Media
