By Canadian Press

Reyna scores, helping Vancouver Whitecaps to 1-0 win over D.C. United

Aug 17, 2019 | 10:34 PM

VANCOUVER — Yordy Reyna scored Saturday night, leading his Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-0 win over Wayne Rooney’s D.C. United.

The win was a long-time coming for the Whitecaps, who hadn’t posted a victory at home since beating FC Dallas 2-1 on May 25 and linger at the bottom of the MLS standings.

Despite the final score, D.C. (10-8-9) out played the Whitecaps (6-12-9), dominating 64.4 per cent of possession across the game.

United also outshot the ‘Caps 24 to eight, though just two of those shots were on target.

Vancouver ‘keeper Maxime Crepeau made two saves for his fifth clean sheet of the season and D.C.’s Bill Hamid stopped one of the two on-target shots he faced.

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Saturday marked soccer superstar Rooney’s first visit to B.C. Place. The crowd of 22,120 erupted in a mix of boos and cheers every time the former captain of England’s national team touched the ball.

There was a vigorous applause in the 74th minute when Rooney came off the field for Ola Kamara.

It’s unlikely the 33-year-old will play in Vancouver again. Earlier this month, he committed to returning to the U.K. next year and joining Derby County as a player coach.

Whitecaps midfielder Russell Teibert set up the lone goal of the night on Saturday, deftly guiding the ball through traffic and dishing it off to Reyna at the top of the box. The Peruvian striker let a shot fly and beat Hamid at the bottom left corner of the net.

The goal was Reyna’s fifth of the season. Teibert was credited with the assist.

D.C. nearly retaliated with a goal of their own a minute later when Ulises Segura got a right-footed shot off from the centre of the box.

Crepeau sent the ball flying with a stunning kick save to preserve Vancouver’s lead.

The Whitecaps had a flurry of chances to grow their lead early in the second half, including off a corner kick by forward Fredy Montero in the 59th minute.

Centre back Derek Cornelius found the ball on his head and directed it at the D.C. net but Hamid arrived just in time to punch it out of harm’s way.

A minute later, Reyna got another opportunity, sending a shot ricocheting off the cross bar.

Vancouver faced a scary moment in the dying minutes of the game when Crepeau seemed to momentarily lose track of a bouncing ball, juggling it to make the stop and preserve a clean sheet.

The ‘Caps ‘keeper went into Saturday’s contest with 80 saves, good for fourth most in MLS.

Vancouver midfielder Hwang In-beom came close to adding some insure for the Whitecaps in injury time, skimming a left-footed shot just over the D.C. net.

Next up, the Whitecaps will travel to San Jose to play the Earthquakes next Saturday.

United play the New York Red Bulls in D.C. on Wednesday.

NOTES: Whitecaps defender Jake Nerwinski left the game in the 50th minute with a right ankle sprain. He was replaced by Doneil Henry. … Tosaint Ricketts made his debut for the ‘Caps, coming on for Fredy Montero in the 78th minute. The Canadian striker signed with the club earlier this month after playing most of the year in Lithuania. … Saturday marked a return to Vancouver for D.C.’s Felipe Martins. The Whitecaps traded the midfielder to United earlier this month for targeted allocation money and a 2020 international roster spot.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press