Well, at least San Diego FC didn’t go down 3-0 this time. There’s that sliver of a silver lining.

It was only 2-nil at the half.

Otherwise, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ visit to Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night wasn’t much different than their previous one, a convincing performance last November in the Western Conference final that sent them to MLS Cup and ended SDFC’s magical inaugural season.

That was a 3-1 final score. This finished 4-2.

A year ago, though, the game matched clearly the two best teams in the West, tied atop the standings with 63 points. And a year ago, Snapdragon was soldout, loud, energetic, electric, pumping, rocking.

And now?

The Whitecaps still lead the West and have gone unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches. But everything has changed with SDFC, from winning just one of their last 13 to plummeting down the standings to 10th (and currently out of the playoffs) to getting yet another red card to Saturday’s subdued crowd generously announced at 23,906.

Which is another way of saying: Major League Soccer’s seven-week break for the World Cup can’t come soon enough.

SDFC coach Mikey Varas recently described the Whitecaps as “flying.” His team, meanwhile, can’t get off the ground – or out of its own way.

It wore its alternate kit Saturday, white jerseys with blue and orange accents, while Vancouver dressed in the dark blue that SDFC normally wears at home. It took a minute to realize, since the team in blue had all the possession.

SDFC usually dominates the ball but found itself chasing much of the night, amassing just 44% possession in the first half and zero shots on goal. The Whitecaps had 56% and six.

That’s usually a recipe for an early deficit, and it was. Tristan Blackmon, the 2025 MLS defender of the year, lofted a curling long ball to German star Thomas Muller, who sent a low cross that Brian White redirected past goalkeeper CJ dos Santos for a 1-0 lead after 30 minutes.

That was White’s ninth goal of the season. He had 10 by halftime after a defensive miscue led to a 2-on-1 in front of goal.

That also gave him two goals in the first half in each of his last two appearances at Snapdragon.

SDFC pulled one back in the 52nd minute on David Vazquez’s shot – the first on goal of the night – from the top of the box. That briefly gave SDFC life, and Marcus Ingvartsen had a header flash wide of the post for a would-be equalizer.

But Vancouver struck again in the 65th minute after another SDFC giveaway, resulting in a 3-on-2 going the other way that substitute Bruno Caicedo tucked away for a 3-1 lead.

The significance?

The Whitecaps entered the night 33-0-0 in MLS history when scoring three or more goals.

Make it 34-0-0.

It only got worse from there. Halftime sub Luca Bombino got his second yellow card in the 72nd minute and was ejected, the ninth time in 19 games this season an SDFC player has seen red. (At least they lead the league in something.)

Three minutes later, White should have had a hat trick but his header heading for goal was guided in by Ralph Priso.

By that point, the Whitecaps may have been feeling empathetic, handing 18-year-old SDFC sub Bryan Zamble his first MLS goal in stoppage time when his shot was fumbled by backup goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer, playing because All-Star Yohei Takaoka was serving a red-card suspension, and rolled into the net.