White scores twice as Whitecaps rout Sounders 5-1

VANCOUVER – Brian White scored twice, including a header 57 seconds into the game, and the Vancouver Whitecaps routed the Seattle Sounders 5-1 at BC Place on Sunday.

The Whitecaps (18-8-7) had already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference on Saturday, but they played like a team with plenty left to prove. White headed in a cross from Bruno Caicedo at the back post to open the scoring, and captain Ryan Gauld made it 2-0 in the ninth minute with a left-footed shot after a pass from Edier Ocampo.

Mathias Laborda headed in a Gauld cross just before halftime to make it 3-0. White added his second in the 53rd minute, finishing a pass from Caicedo for his 20th MLS goal this season and the 100th of his Vancouver career. He is the first player in the club’s MLS era to score 100 goals across all competitions.

Jordan Morris pulled one back for Seattle in the second half, but Aleksa Cvetkovic restored the four-goal lead soon after. Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made a key save on Dejan Joveljic in the 22nd minute, when the game was still within reach for the visitors.

“We want to finish the season as strong as we can, and we do that by winning games,” Gauld said after the match. Head coach Jesper Sorensen said the team wants to collect every available point to protect home-field advantage through the playoffs. Vancouver reached last season’s MLS Cup final, a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami.

White had gone five games without a goal before scoring in Vancouver’s 4-1 win over San Diego FC on Wednesday. Our earlier report explains how the Whitecaps clinched the top seed in the West for the first time.

Seattle (11-12-10) sits ninth in the West and could face a play-in game against the eighth-place Colorado Rapids. The Sounders host Los Angeles FC on Saturday.

The Whitecaps close the regular season on the road against CF Montreal next week. A weeklong international break follows, and Vancouver opens its playoff run at home on Nov. 22 against an opponent still to be determined.

Via The Canadian Press and ESPN match data.

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