Fifty-six seconds in, this one was already tilting
Brian White headed home a Bruno Caicedo cross in the first minute, and the Vancouver Whitecaps never looked back, beating the Seattle Sounders 5-1 at BC Place on Sunday in front of 32,111 fans.
The win completed something no team has done since the Cascadia Cup was launched by supporters in 2004: a perfect record. Vancouver won all four of its matches against Seattle and Portland this season, sweeping both rivals.
White's Historic Brace
White's opener was his 99th goal for the club across all competitions. His second, in the 53rd minute from another Caicedo cross, made him the first player in the club's MLS era to reach 100 goals for Whitecaps FC across all competitions.
Captain Ryan Gauld scored in the 9th minute and added two assists. Mathías Laborda headed in a Gauld cross at 43 minutes to make it 3-0 at half-time. Jordan Morris replied for Seattle at 62 minutes, and Aleksa Cvetković finished the scoring at 69 minutes.
Gauld, Édier Ocampo and Caicedo each collected two assists. The five goals are the most Vancouver has ever scored against Seattle in an MLS match.
Top of the West
The Whitecaps (18W-8L-7D, 61 points) had clinched first place in the Western Conference for the first time in club history one day earlier. Sunday's win set new club records for home wins (11) and home points (35) in an MLS regular season, and made Vancouver only the fourth team in MLS history with back-to-back 60-point seasons.
Vancouver closes the regular season at CF Montréal on Saturday, November 7, then opens the MLS Cup Playoffs at BC Place on Sunday, November 22.
The Twikup Take
First in the West, a perfect Cascadia sweep, and a 100-goal striker — all in one weekend. Whatever happens in the playoffs, this is already the best regular season this club has ever put together.
Image: AI-generated illustration.