Armstrong scores, surging Whitecaps beat slumping Earthquakes

VANCOUVER — Stuart Armstrong scored his first Major League Soccer goal and the Vancouver Whitecaps continued their hot streak Saturday, blanking the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0.

Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for the 'Caps (13-8-6) and Ryan Gauld contributed a pair of assists.

Vancouver is now unbeaten in its last four games across all competitions and sits fifth in the MLS Western Conference with less than a month to go in regular-season play.

The loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.

Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made 9 saves for the Quakes.

Vancouver was the dominant side from the start on Saturday and did not relent across the match, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.

The 'Caps came tantalizingly close to scoring several times early on Saturday.

Captain Gauld curled a ball into Picault in the 22nd minute and the Haitian striker headed the ball down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm's way.

Gauld and Picault connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past the San Jose 'keeper for his ninth MLS goal of the season.

The home side came dangerously close to taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room when Pedro Vite touched a ball to Gauld at the top of the area in the 45th minute. The Scottish attacking midfielder launched a blistering shot that skimmed just over the crossbar.

Vancouver outshot the visitors 8-3 across the first half and held a 5-2 edge in on-target shots.

Early in the second half, the woodwork played spoiler once again when Picault's header pinged off the crossbar, denying the 'Caps a two-goal lead in the 51st minute.

San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. A linesman quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.

Daniel kept San Jose's deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.

First, the Brazilian 'keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from 'Caps midfielder Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.

Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute. Vite dished a short pass to Gauld, who tapped it toward his countryman, Armstrong, who blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps' jersey.

The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder signed with Vancouver on Sept. 3.

NOTES

Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld's assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.