{"id":911885,"date":"2026-09-27T18:28:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911885\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T18:28:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:28:47","slug":"vancouver-whitecaps-battle-d-c-united-to-3-3-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911885\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver Whitecaps battle D.C. United to 3-3 draw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

D.C. United’s Kimito Nono (2) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the first half of an MLS soccer match, in Vancouver, on Saturday.JACOB MALLARI\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Some uncharacteristic sloppiness cost the Vancouver Whitecaps two points on Saturday. <\/p>\n

While the team remains atop Major League Soccer\u2019s Western Conference standings after battling D.C. United to a 3-3 draw, the \u2018Caps know they could have boosted the cushion with a win. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the balance in our performance today is not as good as it usually is,\u201d said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen. <\/p>\n

Kimito Nono had a brace for a D.C. side that took the lead in the 16th minute, then fell behind twice but refused to relent until the final whistle. <\/p>\n

Lucas Bartlett also scored for United (6-8-12) and goalkeeper Sean Johnson provided six saves. <\/p>\n

The \u2018Caps (15-6-5) got a goal and an assist from Thomas Muller, while both striker Brian White and winger Bruno Caicedo found the back of the net and Yohei Takaoka registered four stops. <\/p>\n

A scramble in front of the Vancouver net off a D.C. corner put United on the board in the 16th minute. <\/p>\n

With Takaoka tied up at the other post, defender Mathias Laborda stepped in and, lying on the turf, stopped Nono\u2019s initial attempt from fully crossing the goal line, but Nono ran in and booted a second shot in to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. <\/p>\n

The \u2018Caps are usually stingy when it comes to conceding set plays, but D.C. had 10 corners in Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen all of the sudden they get momentum, they get confidence, they know it\u2019s an opportunity for them. And it can be tricky,\u201d Sorensen said of giving up set plays.<\/p>\n

Defending is generally a strength for Vancouver, but against D.C., two corners proved to be costly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a habit. It\u2019s what can happen,\u201d Sorensen said. \u201cWe can score a goal, the opponents can also. But we have been consistently good in that part of the game. Today we were not and also they were very strong.\u201d <\/p>\n

A rebound at the other end of the field saw the Whitecaps equalize nine minutes later. <\/p>\n

Johnson stopped White\u2019s first shot but the rebound popped back out to the top of the six-yard box and the striker blasted his second try into the top of the net. <\/p>\n

White\u2019s goal \u2013 his team-leading 17th of the MLS season \u2013 set a new career high for the 30-year-old American forward. <\/p>\n

Vancouver took the lead in the final minutes of the first half off a give-and-go play inside the penalty area. <\/p>\n

Caicedo slipped a ball to Muller at the top of the area, then took a few quick steps toward the D.C. net. Muller sent it back to the foot of the Ecuadorean winger and he tapped it in to put the \u2018Caps up 2-1 in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. <\/p>\n

Caicedo said he\u2019s been working hard in training on plays and movements since joining the Whitecaps in January. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just people that are helping me with my development,\u201d he said via a translator. \u201cThe coaching staff are doing a tremendous job with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he\u2019d envisioned himself executing that kind of a play with German soccer legend Muller, the 21-year-old product of Barcelona SC\u2019s youth academy said the moment was still surreal. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, I couldn\u2019t have even imagined it until now, until I\u2019m actually doing it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now I\u2019m enjoying it a lot. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m enjoying playing for this football club and in this city. And also, I\u2019m enjoying playing with players like Ryan Gauld and Andres Cubas and all these players that are around me. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

D.C. evened the score once again in the 65th minute off another set play. <\/p>\n

Keisuke Kurokawa floated a ball in off a corner kick and Bartlett headed it in over Takaoka to make it 2-2. <\/p>\n

Vancouver struck back in the 72nd minute when Muller collected a ball from defender Aleksa Cvetkovic and fired a rolling shot from just above the penalty area. The blast ticked off Johnson\u2019s outstretched fingertips and into the D.C. net to put the \u2018Caps up 3-2. <\/p>\n

The strike drew animated cheers from the announced crowd of 26,080 at BC Place. <\/p>\n

D.C. continued to push and, in the 80th minute, Hosei Kijima sent Nono a ball that the Japanese right back popped in for his second goal of the game. <\/p>\n

The 3-3 draw left Vancouver with 50 points on the season, three ahead of second-place side FC Dallas in the Western Conference standings. The Whitecaps have eight games left on their regular-season schedule. <\/p>\n

Both teams were missing stars who were away playing for their national teams on Saturday. <\/p>\n

The \u2018Caps had six players out on international duty \u2013 including defensive midfielder Andres Cubas and midfielder Edier Ocampo \u2013 and four others absent due to injuries and illness. <\/p>\n

Vancouver still fielded \u201ca good team,\u201d Sorensen said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have players on national team duty, it\u2019s also because they have good qualities. That\u2019s always the case,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s also the case for opponents \u2026 We don\u2019t want to talk a lot about players who are not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

D.C. was without three players who had been called up to represent their countries, including Tai Baribo, and one who missed the game due to injury. <\/p>\n

Vancouver bolstered its ranks with a pair of signings on Saturday, inking Canadian forward Johnny Selemani to a contract through the 2029-30 MLS season and bringing midfielder Valter Sedin up from MLS NEXT Pro side Whitecaps FC 2 on a short-term MLS deal.<\/p>\n

Up next<\/p>\n

Whitecaps: Visit the Chicago Fire on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n

United: Visit Inter Miami on Oct. 10.\u2028<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: D.C. United’s Kimito Nono (2) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Vancouver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911886,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,55,883,913],"class_list":["post-911885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-vancouver","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}