VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Daniel Rios scored in the first half, Thomas Muller and Kenji Cabrera scored in the second, and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated FC Dallas 3-0 on Sunday in the best-of-three first-round opener of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Yohei Takaoka achieved his third clean sheet in seven postseason starts without a save for the Western Conference’s second-seeded Whitecaps.
Neither team scored, but Rios found the back of the net in the 43rd minute, giving Vancouver a 1-0 lead at halftime. Ali Ahmed had Rios’ second career postseason goal and first assist in the playoffs in his sixth appearance, and Sebastian Berhalter had his second goal in six playoff games.
Müller scores from penalty kick In the 60th minute they had a two point advantage. Muller earned the penalty after Emmanuel Sabbi fouled Dallas defender Osaze Ulhogheide. Muller joined the club from Bayern Munich in August and has played in seven regular season games, scoring seven goals.
Cabrera came on as a substitute for Sabbi in the 76th minute, making his first postseason appearance, and scored in the 83rd minute to take a 3–0 lead. 18-year-old forward Rayan Eloumi came on as a substitute for Rios in the 66th minute and recorded his first assist. Eloumi appeared in seven regular season games and scored two goals.
Rookie Michael Collodi saved seven shots in goal for Dallas in his first postseason start.
The series moves to Dallas on Saturday. The Whitecaps won 1-0 there in mid-March.
Dallas defeated the Whitecaps in Vancouver for the first time since 2018, winning 2-1 on Decision Day, not only clinching a postseason berth, but also clinching the No. 7 seed and avoiding a wild-card match.
Dallas has made the playoffs in 21 of 30 seasons, while the Whitecaps are making the postseason for the eighth time since joining the league in 2011. Neither club has ever won a cup competition.
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