ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Thomas Muller scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time, Nelson Pierre also scored late, and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Orlando City 2-1 on Saturday night to take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with one week left in the regular season.
Vancouver (18-6-9) finishes the regular season next Saturday against Dallas with 63 points, three more than second-place San Diego.
Orlando (14-8-11) is seventh in the Eastern Conference with 53 points, one behind Nashville. Eighth place Chicago has 52 points and Columbus has 51 points.
Muller scored on a feed from Ryan Gold, giving him nine points (six goals, three assists) in six games with the Whitecaps.
Daggar Thorharsson opened the scoring for Orlando City (14-8-11) in the 24th minute. On the counter-attack, Martín Ojeda flicked a short arcing cross to McGuire for a header, and the onrushing Torharsson finished from the center of the area.
Pierre, who replaced Daniel Rios in the 74th minute, scored his first MLS career goal in the 81st minute to make it 1-1. The 20-year-old straight-up player made his third appearance for Vancouver and finished off Sebastian Berhalter’s shot that hit the post with his first touch.
Orlando’s Robin Jansson left the game due to a knee injury and was replaced in the 18th minute by Duncan McGuire.
This is the first match between the two clubs since April 20, 2019. The Whitecaps have an overall record of 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw against Orlando City.
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