Brian White scored in the 73rd minute in his first match action since Aug. 27 to lift the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
The Whitecaps (13-8-7, 46 points) remained a point clear of Houston (12-8-9, 45 points) in the Western Conference standings, with both in playoff position. Vancouver and Houston are both 2-0-2 over their past four outings
The Whitecaps scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who returned to the lineup after being cleared from concussion protocol, beat Dynamo goalie Steve Clark to the lower-left corner.
The scoring play was started by a pass from Ryan Gauld on the left sideline and went through Fafa Picault, who centered the ball to White just as he reached the 6-yard box. White chipped the ball past Clark.
The Dynamo outshot Vancouver 6-4 before halftime but had no shots on goal until the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time. Amine Bassi worked his way into the penalty area before being fouled by the Whitecaps’ Pedro Vite.
On the ensuing penalty kick, Ezequiel Ponce beat Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka into the upper left of the zone in the half’s final action. Takaoka dived to his right and got his left hand on Ponce’s shot but could not stop it.
It was the first goal allowed by Takaoka in MLS play since a tally by the Dynamo’s Griffin Dorsey in a 4-3 loss to Houston on July 20, a span that lasted three complete matches (two wins and a draw).
Dorsey and Gauld had scoring chances for their teams in the 64th and 65th minutes, respectively, but Takaoka and Clark were each up to the task. Then in the 68th minute, Houston’s Erik Sviatchenko ripped a shot off the crossbar off a corner kick from Bassi.
That set the stage for White, who had entered as a substitute in the 60th minute.
–Field Level Media
