Whitecaps play to scoreless draw in 50th anniversary match
On a night of celebration, the Vancouver Whitecaps endured their fair share of challenges as they played to a 0-0 draw against Austin FC on Saturday at BC Place.
With 32,465 fans on hand for the Whitecaps' 50th anniversary match - a team record for the Whitecaps' MLS era - the club settled for a second straight draw to bring their record to 5-2-3 for the year, while snapping a two-game winning streak for Austin (4-3-4).
The Whitecaps entered Saturday's game holding a 4-1-1 edge in six meetings against Austin since the visitors joined MLS in 2021, and were 3-0-0 at BC Place.
The two Western Conference sides will square off again at Q2 stadium on Aug. 31.
Whitecaps striker Brian White's goal-scoring streak was snapped at four games.
In the first half, Vancouver was forced to deal with an injury and a couple of video replays that didn't go their way.
The tone was set in the 19th minute, when an apparent goal by captain Ryan Gauld was called back after a hand ball was identified before the shot.
In the 38th minute, Whitecaps midfielder Sam Adekugbe left the game with a left calf injury. The team played down a man for five minutes before Ryan Raposo subbed in.
With the Whitecaps pressing just before halftime, the officials went back to the replay to check a possible penalty by Alex Ring on Fafa Picault inside the box. Ultimately, it was determined that no penalty kick would be awarded.
Instead, Picault and Austin defender Guilherme Biro were both shown yellow cards for poor sportsmanship, and a skirmish ensued between the two sides as they headed to their locker rooms, leading to a yellow card for Austin captain Sebastian Driussi.
By halftime, the home side had controlled the run of the play, with a 3-1 edge in shots on goal, but had nothing to show for its efforts against an Austin side that had posted clean sheets in its last two outings.
The yellow cards kept coming in the second half, as White was cautioned in the 46th minute after a foul on Jhojan Valencia.
The Whitecaps continued to dominate possession and get chances in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver dove to get a hand on a point-blank shot by Raposo, then Alessandro Schopf fired the rebound just wide.
In the 77th minute, Gauld danced to the top of the box, but fired just over the net. Then in stoppage time, Stuver pulled down a loose ball from a crowd just in front of the goal line.
NOTES: Earlier this week, Vancouver mayor Ken Sim officially proclaimed May 4 as Whitecaps FC 50th Anniversary Day. The club was also recognized at the Legislature by the Province of British Columbia. More than 100 alumni from across the Whitecaps' five-decade history were welcomed to the pitch ahead of the opening kickoff.
UP NEXT: As part of an eight-game schedule in May, the Whitecaps will hit the road next week. They'll begin their defence of the Canadian Championship against Cavalry FC on Tuesday, then return to MLS action next Saturday against LAFC.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Custom baseball card released of Blue Jays fan struck in the face with foul ball
Liz McGuire, the Blue Jays fan who was struck in the face with a 110 m.p.h. foul ball last week, has been pictured on a custom baseball trading card applauding her fandom to the game.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
NEW 'Language is identity': Indigenous Ontario legislator to make history at Queen's Park
Decades after being punished in a residential school for speaking his own language, Sol Mamakwa will hold the powerful to account at Ontario's legislature in the very same language past governments tried to bury.
Experts seeing 'more and more' hate content created by artificial intelligence
B'nai Brith Canada flagged the issue of AI-generated hate content in a recent report on antisemitism.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.