SAN DIEGO (AP) — Brian White scored twice in the first half and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated expansion team San Diego FC 3-1 on Saturday night for their first Western Conference win.
Jesper Sorensen’s Whitecaps head to Florida to face Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in MLS Cup on December 6th. Inter Miami won the Eastern Conference with a 5-1 victory over visiting New York City FC on Saturday. This is the first time for both clubs to reach the finals.
White gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead. The Whitecaps took the lead in the eighth minute, and three minutes later an own goal from San Diego keeper Pablo Cisniega gave the Whitecaps a two-goal lead.
Andres Cubas and Ali Ahmed assisted on White’s first netter this postseason.
Ahmed fired a shot on goal, which was saved by Sisniega, but Manu Dua tried to clear it and instead routed the ball off Sisniega’s back and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
White again used assists from Cubas and Ahmed to score with two minutes left in stoppage time, giving them a three-point advantage at half-time.
White has five career goals in 12 playoff games. Cubas recorded his first two assists in the postseason in his 10th appearance. All three assists in Ahmed’s nine career playoff games have come this season.
For San Diego, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano came on as a substitute to start the second half and scored in the 60th minute with an assist from Jeppe Tverskov, his shot deflecting over Yohei Takaoka’s head to make it 3-1. This was Lozano’s first goal in his first MLS postseason. Tverskov earned his second assist in his first postseason.
San Diego was forced into a man-down in the 79th minute when Cisniega received a red card for a foul on Ryan Gold.
Takaoka finished with three saves in his 10th postseason start over the past three seasons with the Whitecaps. He allowed 12 goals through his first nine goals.
Pablo Cisniega saved four shots in his third postseason start for San Diego. He was scoreless in the first two games.
Mikey Vallas’ San Diego team became the second expansion team to reach the conference finals, joining the 1998 Chicago Fire. Chicago won the MLS Cup by defeating two-time defending champion DC United 2-0 in front of 50,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
During the regular season, San Diego defeated Vancouver 5-3 on the road and tied 1-1 at home with the Whitecaps.
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