By Canadian Press

Whitecaps defeat St. Louis, get help on the scoreboard to clinch MLS playoff spot

Oct 4, 2023 | 11:09 PM

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps scored three second-half goals to defeat St. Louis City 3-0 and got some help on the out-of-town scoreboard to clinch a Major League Soccer playoff berth Wednesday night.

Striker Brian White and midfielders Sebastian Berhalter and Richie Laryea scored for Vancouver, which made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

Vancouver (12-10-10) came into the match needing a win over St. Louis City and for either Minnesota United F.C. or F.C. Dallas to lose or draw in their games. The Whitecaps got a positive result when Minnesota lost to LAFC. The Dallas-Colorado game was postponed due to weather conditions.

White’s goal came in the 59th minute and started with defender Ranko Veselinoivc sending a long pass up the field. White headed the ball between two St. Louis defenders, chased it down, then chipped a shot over goalkeeper Ben Lundt.

It was White’s 15th goal in MLS play and 19th across all competitions.

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Berhalter scored in the 87th minute when he took a pass from Ryan Gauld and hammered a left-footed shot into the corner of the net. It was Gauld’s 12th assist in MLS play this season.

Laryea scored in added time with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box.

St. Louis (17-11-5) lost for the first time in six games (2-1-3) but still leads the MLS Western Conference.

Vancouver controlled much of the first 45 minutes, but the game was 0-0 at half time.

The 13,776 Whitecaps fans at BC Place Stadium were frustrated by two video review calls during the opening half.

Gauld looked to have scored in the 39th minute with a tumbling, right-footed shot that beat Lunt. The goal was disallowed after a video review ruled Gauld was offside on the play.

In the 23rd minute the crowd was angry when sliding St. Louis defender Josh Yaro took the legs out from underneath White. The referee reviewed the play, but no penalty was called.

White came close to opening the scoring in the ninth minute, sending a shot just past the far post.

In the 18th minute defender Javain Brown took a pretty crossing pass from midfielder Ali Ahmed and sent a header wide.

White and Gauld almost connected in the dying minutes of injury time in the first half. Midfielder Ryan Raposo sent a pretty pass into Gauld. He raced down the field then fed a ball in front of the net that a sliding White just missed connecting with.

The second half was just a few minutes old when St. Louis’s Anthony Markanich slid a ball to midfielder Aziel Jackson who blasted a right-footed shot from the centre of the box that Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Whitecaps play Seattle at home Saturday night then end their regular season on the road Oct. 21 against LAFC. St. Louis ends its regular season Oct. 21 at home against Seattle.

NOTES: White has goals in four consecutive games. He also has seven goals and two assists in his last nine appearances. … Whitecaps defender Andres Cubas left the game in the 51st minute with a right shoulder injury. … The top seven teams in MLS’s two conferences clinch playoff spots. The eighth and ninth teams earn wild-card spots and play in a one-game playoff. … The Whitecaps were coming off a 2-2 draw with DC United Saturday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.

Jim Morris, The Canadian Press