The Seattle Sounders fell 5-1 at the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Brian White recorded a brace, and Ryan Gauld, MathÃas Laborda and Aleksa Cvetković tallied for the hosts, who clinched the top seed in the Western Conference. Jordan Morris scored a consolation goal for the Sounders.
Vancouver took the lead inside the opening minute when Bruno Caicedo clipped a ball from the left side of the box to the center of the six-yard box for White, who rose to head in his 19th goal of the year
The ‘Caps doubled their lead in the ninth minute when Édier Ocampo passed a ball from the right side into the center of the box for Gauld, who one-timed a left-footed finish past Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.
Morris had a chance to halve the deficit in the 14th minute when he had a headed chance in the box, but his attempt went over the crossbar.
Sounders forward Dejan Joveljić had an ambitious attempt from distance in the 22nd minute after intercepting an errant pass, and the Serbian international’s shot forced Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka into his first save of the match.
White nearly earned a brace in the 26th minute with another header at the back post, but Thomas did well to recover and punch it over the bar.
Vancouver added a third in the 43rd minute when Gauld sent in an inviting cross to the far post for Laborda, who headed the ball whence it came and past Thomas.
White found his second goal and 20th of the year in the 53rd minute when Caicedo drove down the left wing again and cut a ball back for White, who redirected it into the far corner.
Joveljić and Morris nearly grabbed one back in the 58th minute, but Takaoka managed to take it off their feet just a couple yards from goal.
Caicedo was inches away from a goal of his own in the 60th minute when he rattled the post.
Seattle responded in the 62nd minute when Albert Rusnák played in Morris on a through ball in behind, and he coolly deposited his shot into the far corner.
The Whitecaps restored their four-goal advantage in the 69th minute when Cheikh Sabaly picked out Cvetković on a counter, and the Serbian midfielder used the outside of his foot to guide his shot past Thomas at the near post.
Hassani Dotson had a chance to add another for the Sounders in the 84th minute, but his attempt to redirect a cross in the center of the box fell calmly to Takaoka.
The Sounders finish the match ninth in the Western Conference with 43 points from 33 matches (11-12-10), just one point clear of the playoff line. A Portland Timbers win later on Sunday would drop Seattle out of a postseason spot with just one game remaining in the regular season.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Rusnák third in MLS in assists
Rusnák earned his 15th assist of the season on Sunday, tied for third in MLS with some huge names in Lionel Messi, Marco Reus and Son Heung-Min. Rusnák’s 15 assists are one shy of his MLS career high he set in 2024.
Morris bags third of year
The Sounders’ all-time leading goalscorer tallied his third goal of the season in 25 matches.
All to play for
The Sounders will look to clinch its 17th MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in 18 MLS seasons next weekend on Decision Day in a heated home tilt against their Southern California rivals in LAFC (4 p.m. PT; Apple TV | **TICKETS**).
