The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Saturday night at Lumen Field behind second-half goals from Ryan Gauld and Brian White.
Vancouver had the first dangerous look of the match in the 11th minute when Pedro Vite’s shot from the top of the box forced Stefan Frei into a diving stop down to his left.
The Sounders were reduced to 10 men in the 43rd minute after Jackson Ragen was sent off for a challenge on Gauld. The referee initially issued a yellow card to Ragen, but he upgraded it to a red card following Video Review.
The Sounders had a chance in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time when Jordan Morris’ header off an Albert Rusnák free kick went just wide.
The Whitecaps opened the scoring in the 58th minute after a Sounders turnover in the back led to a cross from Sam Adekugbe, who picked out Gauld. The Scottish midfielder deposited a one-timed left-footed finish past Stefan Frei.
Vancouver doubled its advantage in the 71st minute when White capitalized on a turnover and finished past Frei for his third goal in as many matches.
Seattle went down to nine men in the 75th minute after Alex Roldan saw a straight red card for a challenge on Ali Ahmed.
Frei kept the deficit at two in the 79th minute after a brilliant stop on a close-range header from Damir Kreilach and a stop on the subsequent rebound by White.
The Sounders’ best chance of the half came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Yeimar cushioned a header off a corner kick to Josh Atencio, whose volley was parried away by goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
First Cascadia Cup match in the books
The Sounders played in their first match of the 2024 Cascadia Cup on Saturday. The defending-champion Whitecaps played their second contest after defeating the Portland Timbers 3-2 at BC Place back in March.
João Paulo makes first start of 2024
Following a hip injury that kept him off the pitch to start the campaign, Sounders central midfielder João Paulo earned his first start of the season. The Brazilian went 63 minutes before being replaced by Atencio.
Cross-country trip awaits
The Sounders will embark on a two-match road swing on the east coast beginning next Saturday. Seattle will visit D.C. United on the weekend before visiting the Philadelphia Union on April 30 to resume a match that was abandoned in the sixth minute on March 9 due to inclement weather.
