Cubas scores 1st MLS goal late in game to lift Whitecaps past league-leading LAFC
Toronto FC falls short defensively as undermanned Sounders earn shutout win
The Vancouver Whitecaps took down Major League Soccer's top team on Saturday, beating Los Angeles FC 1-0.
Andres Cubas provided the game winner, scoring his first MLS goal in the 89th minute.
L.A. (11-4-3) dominated the first half but Vancouver (7-8-3) rallied in the second and outshot the visitors 10-7 over the course of the game, including two shots on target.
Crepeau started in 32 games for Vancouver between 2019 and 2021, but requested a trade ahead of the 2022 campaign due to what Caps sporting director Axel Schuster has described as a "very personal situation."
Vancouver goalkeeper Cody Cropper did not register a save but collected his fourth clean sheet of the season.
WATCH l Cubas scores 1st MLS goal as Whitecaps stun LAFC:
Cubas connected for the game-winning strike in the 89th minute, taking the ball off his chest at the top of the penalty area and sending a right-footed shot skittering past Crepeau and into the bottom left-corner of the net.
The Caps signed Cubas, a Paraguayan international, at the end of April.
The Whitecaps gained momentum late in the game and striker Brian White appeared poised to put the home side on the board in the 75th minute after a ball slipped through L.A.'s backline.
White streaked in alone and got a solid shot off, but sent the ball careening off the goalpost, prompting the American to bury his face in his hands.
White sent a cross into the box and former LAFC defender Tristan Blackmon sent a blistering header toward the L.A. net, but Crepeau dove and snatched the ball out of the air.
Minutes earlier, the Caps preserved the 0-0 score line by defending a dangerous free kick after Whitecaps attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld was called for taking out Danny Musovki. L.A. sharpshooter Cristian Arango took the kick, sending a ball into the Vancouver wall.
LAFC dominated 61.2 per cent of the possession through the first half and outshot Vancouver 4-2, though neither shot registered a single shot on target.
The Black and Gold had the better chances, though, including a header by Arango in the 31st minute.
A foul by Vancouver's Russell Teibert gave L.A. a free kick from the top corner of the penalty area. The initial blast didn't create much trouble, but it allowed Mamadou Fall to get a cross to Arango at the centre of the box and the Colombian sent a header just over the Caps net.
Arango came into Saturday's game having scored in his last four outings.
Latif Blessing nearly opened the scoring for L.A. earlier in the half. Francisco Ginella's shot was blocked by Caps defender Javain Brown in the 12th minute, but Blessing collected the loose ball and fired it from the top of the penalty area, only to see it glance off the crossbar.
Both sides will be back in action on Friday, with the Whitecaps hosting Minnesota United and LAFC entertaining the L.A. Galaxy.
Toronto FC blanked by Sounders
Goals by Dylan Teves and Fredy Montero lifted the undermanned Seattle Sounders to a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC in MLS play Saturday in Toronto.
Teves, scoring in his first career start, took advantage of some slack Toronto defending to put Seattle (8-7-2) ahead in the 39th minute. Montero, a former Vancouver Whitecap striker, added to the lead in the 60th minute as the TFC backline was caught short again.
Toronto (5-10-3) has now conceded goals in 26 straight league games. TFC last held the opposition scoreless in league play on July 25, 2021, when it tied 0-0 at Colorado.
The two Italians received a standing ovation when they were introduced at halftime.
Toronto, which lost 2-1 to visiting Columbus mid-week, came into the game having won two of its last four league contests (2-0-2) but was 2-7-1 over its last 10 outings.
WATCH l Toronto FC blanked by Sounders FC in 2nd straight home loss:
The Sounders have recovered from a poor 2-5-1 start to the season, although their four-game unbeaten run (3-0-1) ended in a mid-week 2-1 loss to visiting CF Montreal that marked the first Seattle defeat since May 22.
Seattle had lost just two of its previous eight MLS contests (5-2-1) despite an injury list that includes star Peruvian forward Raul Ruidiaz, striker Will Bruin and Ecuador defender Xavier Arreaga.
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei, Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan and Albert Rusnak did not make the trip to Toronto, forcing Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer to dig deep into his roster with Ruidiaz and Rusnak both designated players, unavailable.
The Sounders opened the scoring late in the first half on their first shot on target. An accurate clearance by goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland found Jimmy Medranda near midfield who controlled the ball and sent it on to Leo Chu down the flank. Chu outpaced defender Carlos Salcedo and sent in a cross that Teves, outmanoeuvring centre back Chris Mavinga, deflected in from close range.
Toronto's defence was cut open again in the second half by captain Nicolas Lodeiro, who had two teammates to choose from with the TFC backline in disarray. He opted for Montero who easily beat defenceless goalkeeper Quentin Westberg for his second of the season and 82nd of his MLS career.
Saturday marked the first meeting between the two teams since the Sounders defeated Toronto 3-1 in the 2019 MLS Cup final in Seattle.
Only five Toronto starters from that championship game remain with the team. Lodeiro, the Sounders' other designated player, was the only Seattle starter from the 2019 MLS Cup in Saturday's starting 11.
Going into Saturday's contest, Toronto and Seattle had met just 14 times in regular-season play (with the Sounders holding a 9-3-2 edge in the series).
Seattle had won the last three meetings, with Toronto's last victory coming in the 2017 MLS Cup final — a 2-0 win for TFC at BMO Field.
Pozuelo reaches 100-game mark
The game marked the 100th Toronto appearance in all competitions for Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo. The 30-year-old designated player, who joined Toronto in 2019 and won league MVP honours in 2020, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Once again, Pozuelo was Toronto's best attacking threat.
Westberg, who missed the mid-week to Columbus with a knock to the knee, was back in the Toronto goal. Salcedo and Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio also returned, replacing Shane O'Neill and Ralph Priso.
Despite its absentees, Seattle started well and forced Toronto into a string of turnovers.
Canadian referee Silviu Petrescu let little get past him, issuing three yellow cards — two to Seattle and one to Toronto — in the first half. He handed out two more, to Seattle, in the second half.
Toronto forward Ayo Akinola was pulled at halftime for the second game in a row. He had just 11 touches in the mid-week loss and 10 touches Saturday.
Montero came close for Seattle in the 52nd, but his shot off a Medranda cross hit the crossbar.
Cleveland made an acrobatic save in the 54th minute, kicking out a leg to deny Pozuelo after a fine setup by Jimenez and Mavinga. Osorio shot wide in the 73rd minute off a Pozuelo corner.
As in the mid-week game against Columbus, Toronto pressed as the second half wore on but failed to breach the Seattle defence.
