By Canadian Press

Armstrong scores, surging Vancouver Whitecaps beat slumping San Jose Earthquakes 2-0

Sep 14, 2024 | 9:45 PM

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.

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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.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press