Whitecaps at sea against Sounders

Vancouver Whitecaps 0-3 Seattle Sounders

VANCOUVER, BC–Despite the clouds surrounding the Whitecaps in terms of their future in Vancouver, it had been smooth sailing so far as it related to the pitch. On Thursday, the Whitecaps were given a mountain to climb in their Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 tie as the Sounders defeated them 3-0 in the first leg at BC Place.

Both teams fielded strong lineups, but the main star of this match was a player who tore his ACL during this competition last season. Paul Arriola scored just before halftime after an errant backpass sent Jesus Ferreira on his way to set up Arriola for the finish in his first start in over a year. Arriola would make it 2-0 in the 58th minute after more comic capers in Vancouver’s defense after they misplayed a Katani Kossa-Rienzi cross.

Paul Rothrock added a third in the 70th minute as he eventually got on the end of a Cristian Roldan cross that initially evaded Danny Musovski and a Vancouver defense at sea.

The second leg of this tie will take place Wednesday, March 18th, at ONE Spokane Stadium in Spokane (8pm CT, FS2, ONESoccer) as Lumen Field will be undergoing preparations for the FIFA Men’s World Cup. Before that, the Whitecaps will host Minnesota United in league play (1:30pm PT, Apple TV) while the Sounders will travel to San Jose Earthquakes (4pm PT, Apple TV).

Photos by Gerrit te Hennepe