- 26,031 attended the match, the largest Whitecaps FC crowd of the MLS season at BC Place
- Brian White scored his 19th goal of the season in all competitions, and 13th in MLS play. He is now one goal behind his career high of 20 goals scored in a season
- Thomas Müller made his Whitecaps FC debut as a second half substitute
- Kenji Cabrera made his MLS and home debut at BC Place as a second half substitute
- Mathías Laborda made his 100th Whitecaps FC appearance across all competitions
VANCOUVER, BC – It was a historic night at BC Place on Sunday, as Thomas Müller made his highly anticipated Vancouver Whitecaps FC debut in a 1-1 draw against Houston Dynamo FC.
It was a perfect start for Whitecaps FC, as Jayden Nelson was taken down in the box to earn the ‘Caps a penalty kick in the opening minutes. Up stepped Brian White, who coolly dispatched his penalty to score his 19th goal of the season and make it 1-0 for Whitecaps FC.
‘Caps ‘keeper Yohei Takaoka then made a huge save in the 12th minute, after a shot took a deflection off Mathías Laborda, forcing Takaoka to make a reactionary kick-save wide.
Takaoka was at it again in the 24th minute, making another point-blank save on Ezequiel Ponce to keep his side’s one-goal advantage. After a hefty back-and-forth period, Nelson almost gave Whitecaps FC a two-goal advantage right at the 45th minute, after Édier Ocampo drilled a low cross right across the face of goal, with Nelson sliding to try to turn it in but his effort smashed against the post instead.
White then came agonizingly close to getting his second minutes later, after getting sent through on goal, but his shot was saved and fell to Nelson. The Canadian tried to follow-up, but his effort was blocked by a defender before Emmanuel Sabbi took a third shot that clipped the crossbar and went out.
Whitecaps FC went into the break with a goal to the good and momentum in their favour.
The second half saw Whitecaps FC keep the momentum, with Sabbi and Sebastian Berhalter both getting some good early chances that Houston had to clear.
10 minutes into the half, Sabbi nearly made it 2-0 after picking the ball up on the right and blasting a shot just inches over the crossbar. Minutes later, Nelson came ever so close to scoring a second after he beat his marker for pace, dribbled around the ‘keeper, but was unable to get it across the line.
The crowd erupted into cheers in the 61st minute, as Thomas Müller came off the bench to make his Whitecaps FC debut. Not long after, a moment of magic appeared to have come.
Müller thought he had scored inside three minutes of his debut after a sumptuous, thunderous finish, but the flag was raised for offside.
Laborda was inches from getting the ‘Caps’ second after meeting a cross into the box with a headed effort.
After pushing hard for a second goal, Houston got a goal back in the first minute of added time after Artur fired in from distance.
Despite a late charge from Whitecaps FC, the ‘Caps would be held to a 1-1 draw in front of a sold-out lower bowl at BC Place.
Whitecaps FC are back in action next Saturday, August 23 as they host St. Louis CITY SC at BC Place. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Attendance: 26,031
Referee: Jon Freeman
Scoring Summary
6’ – VAN – Brian White (penalty kick)
90’+1 – HOU – Artur (Amine Bassi)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 50.9% - HOU 49.1%
Shots: VAN 15 - HOU 11
Shots on Goal: VAN 3 - HOU 2
Saves: VAN 1 - HOU 2
Fouls: VAN 14 - HOU 12
Offsides: VAN 2 - HOU 4
Corners: VAN 4 - HOU 4
Cautions
26’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
36’ – VAN – Belal Halbouni
39’ – HOU – Sebastian Kowalczyk
42’ – HOU – Pablo Ortiz
45’+1 – HOU – Brooklyn Raines
90’+7 – HOU – Brooklyn Raines
Ejection90’+7 – HOU – Brooklyn Raines
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 18.Édier Ocampo, 33.Tristan Blackmon (15.Bjørn Inge Utvik HT), 12.Belal Halbouni, 2.Mathías Laborda; 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 20.Andrés Cubas, 59.Jeevan Badwal (13.Thomas Müller 61’); 11.Emmanuel Sabbi (22.Ali Ahmed 61’), 24.Brian White © (14.Daniel Ríos 76’), 7.Jayden Nelson (17.Kenji Cabrera 90’+1)
Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 6.Ralph Priso, 26.J.C. Ngando, 28.Tate Johnson
Houston Dynamo FC
31.Jonathan Bond; 25.Griffin Dorsey, 3.Antonio Carlos (4.Ethan Bartlow 64’), 22.Pablo Ortiz, 26.Felipe Andrade (30.Junior Urso 82’); 35.Brooklyn Raines, 6.Artur, 21.Jack McGlynn; 27.Sebastian Kowalczyk (8.Amine Bassi 64’), 10.Ezequiel Ponce (11.Lawrence Ennali 72’), 9.Ondrej Lingr (12.Toyosi Olusanya 82’)
Substitutes not used
1.Jimmy Maurer, 14.Duane Holmes, 23.Michael Halliday, 24.Femi Awodesu
