Report and Reaction: Whitecaps leave it late but march on in playoffs after shootout win over Dallas

(Photo Courtesy: @WhitecapsFC/X.com)

Good teams find a way to win, especially when they haven’t been at their best, and Vancouver Whitecaps are a good team.

The Whitecaps certainly weren’t the free-flowing attacking juggernaut we’ve become used to this season in game two of their best-of-three series at FC Dallas on Saturday night. Heading into second half stoppage time, trailing to a 25th minute Petar Musa goal, they hadn’t even been able to muster a shot on target, despite dominating the possession stats once again. But they found that way.

Ralph Priso was Vancouver’s goalscoring hero, tucking away a rebound from his own saved header in the 93rd minute. After that it was all Whitecaps. They came close to winning it before full time, but got the job done in the resultant penalty shootout, breaking Dallas hearts, ending their season, and moving on to the Western Conference semi-finals.

Now they have three weeks off to rest, get healthy, and hopefully stay at the levels that will now be required if they are to win their first ever MLS Cup.

Jesper Sorensen rolled out an unchanged starting line-up from last week’s dominant display in game one at BC Place, but the Whitecaps knew that this would be a much different Dallas side to the one they faced six days ago, and they were. Not so much in terms of personnel, but certainly in intensity and aggression, with their 2025 season hanging by a thread.

Dallas came out on the front foot and Musa forced Yohei Takaoka into a save from a free kick just three minutes in. The ‘Caps keeper couldn’t keep hold of the ball and the danger was cleared, but the attacking intent was clear.

The home side continued to look the more likely to open the scoring and Logan Farrington superbly played Musa in on goal in the 20th minute, but Takaoka came up big again. This time the rebound fell to Bernard Kamungo, but he fired wide when he should have scored.

The Whitecaps had their first chance of the game three minutes later when Emmanuel Sabbi pounced on a poor ball out from Dallas keeper Michael Collodi, running into the box, ghosting past the defender in his path, but agonisingly firing inches past the back post.

A scare for Dallas, but they responded in the best possible way, by taking the lead.

Ramiro Benetti cut out a loose Sebastian Berhalter pass and played the ball quickly for Musa to run on to. The ball split the Whitecaps defence, allowing the Croatian to run in on goal and tuck it away superbly past Takaoka, and the Texans had the breakthrough and life in the tie.

Kamungo thought he’d put Dallas two up just four minutes later, after another through ball caught the Whitecaps defence cold. This time though it was Vancouver who survived the scare, as the flag went up quickly for offside.

This was to be the last real scare for the Whitecaps, however, and they started to control the game, albeit without carving out any clear goalscoring opportunities.

Dallas clearly felt the pressure ratchet up, so they turned up the aggression, with Vancouver players on the wrong end of some heavy challenges. The worst of which came just before half time when Berhalter worryingly went down with what looked like a head injury after being blindsided by a hit from Musa.

Amazingly the midfielder was okay to start the second half. Tate Johnson wasn’t so fortunate after being felled by a tackle and landing heavily on his shoulder, being replaced by Mathias Laborda. Ten minutes into the second half and it was striker Daniel Rios that limped out after another heavy challenge.

The ‘Caps tried to find a way through a resolute Dallas defence as the minutes ticked down. The closest they came though was when Nolan Norris getting his body in the way to block a Sabbi shot.

The match headed into stoppage time and the Whitecaps won a corner. Berhalter whipped in a pinpoint delivery onto the head of Thomas Müller, who nodded it forward to Priso in the six yard box. The Canadian’s goalbound header was stopped on the line by Anderson Julio, with Collodi trying to pounce on it. The rebound came back to Priso and he coolly and calmly tucked it away and the Whitecaps were level.

Penalties loomed, but the Whitecaps were aware that the momentum had very much swung in their favour and they pushed for the most dramatic of late winners. Rayan Elloumi had a great chance to get it, but pulled his shot high and over, before Collodi produced a goalline stop to deny Jayden Nelson with the last kick of the game and we were heading to a shootout.

Vancouver were perfect from the spot with Müller, Berhalter, Kenji Cabrera, and Belal Halbouni all scoring. Patrickson Delgado, who had been brought on for the shootout, crashed Dallas’ second effort of the bar, before Norris fired their fourth over and the ‘Caps came away with the 4-2 victory.

The Whitecaps now move on to the Western Conference semi-finals for the third time in their history, with a home date on November 22nd against LAFC or Austin. In what has already been a historic season, more history making action awaits.

FINAL SCORE: FC Dallas 1- 1 Vancouver Whitecaps (Whitecaps win 4-2 on penalties)

ATT: 11,004

DALLAS: 30.Michael Collodi; 18.Shaq Moore, 25.Sebastien Ibeagha, 3.Osaze Urhoghide, 32.Nolan Norris; 55.Kaick (6.Patrickson Delgado 90’+5), 12.Christian Cappis (8.Sebastian Lletget 46′), 17.Ramiro Benetti, 77.Bernard Kamungo (20.Pedrinho 90’+5); 9.Petar Musa, 23.Logan Farrington (11.Anderson Julio 81’) [Substitutes not used: 1.Maarten Paes, 5.Lalas Abubakar, 19.Paxton Pomykal, 24.Joshua Torquato, 28.Samuel Sarver]

VANCOUVER: 1.Yohei Takaoka; 18.Édier Ocampo, 12.Belal Halbouni, 6.Ralph Priso, 28.Tate Johnson (2.Mathías Laborda 46′); 16.Sebastian Berhalter, 20.Andrés Cubas (25.Ryan Gauld 75’); 11.Emmanuel Sabbi (17.Kenji Cabrera 75’), 13.Thomas Müller, 22.Ali Ahmed (7.Jayden Nelson 84’); 14.Daniel Ríos (75.Rayan Elloumi 55’) [Substitutes not used: 32.Isaac Boehmer, 23.Joedrick Pupe, 27.Giuseppe Bovalina, 59.Jeevan Badwal]

SCORING SUMMARY:
25’ – DAL – Petar Musa (Ramiro Benetti)
90’+3 – VAN – Ralph Priso

Shootout
VAN – Scored – Thomas Müller
DAL – Scored – Petar Musa
VAN – Scored – Sebastian Berhalter
DAL – Missed – Patrickson Delgado (off bar)
VAN – Scored – Kenji Cabrera
DAL – Scored – Shaq Moore
VAN – Scored – Belal Halbouni
DAL – Missed – Nolan Norris (over bar)

STATS:
Possession: DAL 37.6% – VAN 62.4%
Shots: DAL 10 – VAN 13
Shots on Goal: DAL 3 – VAN 2
Saves: DAL 1 – VAN 2
Fouls: DAL 15 – VAN 11
Offsides: DAL 2 – VAN 0
Corners: DAL 2 – VAN 8

CARDS:
11’ – DAL – Osaze Urhoghide
32’ – DAL – Christian Cappis
36’ – DAL – Sebastien Ibeagha
71’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
90’+2 – DAL – Kaick

REACTION:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

JESPER SORENSEN

On the second half and late comeback:

“We talked about it in the break that we played bad halves before. We’ve been behind before, and we managed to come back. And even though we didn’t really find our rhythm in the first half, and also due to the fact that others were very good, we still believe that they will break after maybe 15 minutes in second half, because they used a lot of energy, and I think that we saw that we just kept playing the way we would like to, and also had some very good players coming in from the bench. I think the guys coming in, they really stepped up and helped a lot, getting the momentum in the end and also playing with the quality. So I think that we really had some very good opportunities. And I think that we deserved the draw, and then we were even close to winning it in the end. We also talked about, if we score, we just go straight at it. So we wouldn’t just settle for a draw, but see if we can go for it.”

On Ralph Priso and his tying goal:

“That was unbelievable, and great for Ralph. I don’t know how many of our heroes are unsung anymore because we’ve been around all of them. But we had the feeling that we might play high up the pitch, and also that Ralph could, with the with the way he can pass the ball, also break some lines that we would benefit from. He can play that position as well as he can play up in the midfield. And I think that he just showed that he’s generally a very good football player, and he showed that all year long, and that he also has a potential for playing that position.”

On the next round opponent in the Conference Semifinal:

“We saw the first game, and we have to see the next one. It’s two good teams. We don’t have to mention some of the players from LAFC, obviously some big stars in this league that can do a lot of things on their own, a team and a club with a lot of proven history in this league, and also in the playoffs. Austin, I think, has really found something late in the season, like Dallas. I think it’s two good teams with different playing styles, but with equally very good opportunities, with both teams having very good players who individually can make the make the difference. So I think it’s going to be interesting. We will look at it, but we’ll mostly focus on ourselves and take a deep breath and be sure that we’re ready in three weeks.”

MIDFIELDER RALPH PRISO

On his team’s performance tonight:

“I think it wasn’t our best start, but after their goal, we kind of just had to get to halftime, sort some things out, and then I think in the second half, we were much better, more control, especially with the ball pinning them in, not allowing the game to be as hectic. We fought til the end and found a goal, and almost scored a second one too. So good fight. Now we just get ready for the next round.”

On advancing:

“Good teams find ways to win, and we think we’re a good team, so we just have to adapt. I think Dallas did a good job of making the game a lot tougher than the first game, and after a slow start, we did a good job of adjusting and finding ways to counter that. I think everyone’s been stepping up this year. If you just look in this game, Tate [Johnson] goes down, who’s been amazing, and Mathi [Laborda] comes in, and was huge in the second half. So we’re getting contributions from everyone, from everywhere, and we just want to keep this going.”

FC DALLAS

HEAD COACH ERIC QUILL

On the match tonight:

“I thought we came out amazing. We played a beautiful first half, front footed, ultra aggressive, just like we wanted to. I asked the guys to raise their mentality, and they did that for our fans and for each other. They fought for the badge. I thought the mentality in the second half was really good too. In the end, it just comes down to the smallest details, inches of play. I’ve only seen the goal once, but it looked like a play that (Michael) Collodi was about to save. I think Anderson Julio felt it was a clearance moment. It was just one of those unlucky situations where the game turns late. We played a really good game, and I’m proud of our guys. They had a few bigger chances at the end while pushing, but we need to be better in those final five minutes. When the ref holds up that board for stoppage time, that should give us an extra jolt to get across the finish line. Even looking back, the corner that led to the goal might have gone off them. It’s really close. I just wish we could have found the second goal to make that moment obsolete. But overall, I’m proud of our guys. We fought hard tonight, and I thought we deserved something from that game.”

On Nolan Norris:

“I mean, Nolan played outstanding. You just feel bad for a kid who stood on his head and played a beautiful game. What people are probably going to talk about is the penalty, and that’s tough. I told him we just have to grow from this. It doesn’t feel good right now to hear that message, and there’s nothing I can say to those guys that will make tonight feel any better. We’re going in the right direction.”

On the penalty kicks:

“We all know how they are. Everyone’s been watching penalty shootouts all season. Nolan and Patrickson Delgado didn’t play much, but they are guys who are lethal in training when it comes to penalties. You see that in practice and know you’re picking the right guys to step up and shoot. But you can’t replicate the pressure of a stadium and all eyes on you. You just can’t. It’s a growth moment and a learning lesson for all of us.”

MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN LLETGET

On the team’s journey to end the season:

“This has been an absolute rollercoaster, emotional, physical, even spiritually, just to get back here to the playoffs where this club belongs. We just came up short, but credit to everybody in this organization to really turn this thing around.”

On the atmosphere tonight:

“Incredible, just incredible. I remember last time was against Minnesota here and it was unforgettable as my first year when I signed, and to feel it all over again, it was incredible, everyone from Frisco with all the way to Dallas. It was an amazing night.”

DEFENDER SEBASTIEN IBEAGHA

On the emotions of the locker room:

“We feel gutted about tonight. We played well. Vancouver is the number two team in the Western Conference and for 90 minutes we controlled the game. I’m proud of everyone in this locker room. We came into this week of training knowing we couldn’t perform the way we did in Game 1. I’m proud of the way we responded, but I feel gutted about tonight’s result.”

On the growth of the team throughout the second half of the season:

“I think it’s a testament to the players, the staff, and Eric (Quill). We looked at the first half of the season and knew we had to improve and fight for each other more. You saw that tonight and I think that is our identity going forward.”