Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Pedro Vite shoots the ball Austin FC at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Tex., on Aug. 31.Dustin Safranek/Reuters
Pedro Vite scored the only goal Vancouver needed as the visiting Whitecaps defeated offense-challenged Austin FC 1-0 on Saturday in Texas in a Western Conference clash.
Vite used a nifty give-and-go play with Ryan Gauld to beat the Verde defense and besieged Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver low to the right corner in the 70th minute. Vite’s right-footed rocket came after a pass into the area by Fafa Picault and nifty back-and-forth passing between Gauld and the scorer.
The goal gave the Whitecaps (12-8-5, 41 points) their fifth win in their past seven games (5-1-1). It was Vancouver’s first league game since July 20, and the victory improved its road record to 7-4-3, the best in the West.
Austin (9-11-7, 34 points) was outshot 20-7 in the match and did not manage a shot on goal.
Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka earned the clean sheet (his fifth of the season) without having to make a save.
The Whitecaps produced a scoring chance in just the second minute of the match as Picault tested Stuver from the left side of the box but was turned away.
Andres Cubas and Picault had Vancouver’s other two shots on target in the half, in the 15th and 35th minutes, respectively, as the Whitecaps were aggressive on the offensive end.
The second half began as the first half ended, with the Whitecaps’ Bjorn Inge Utvik leaping high to deflect Sebastian Berhalter’s free kick on goal in the 59th minute. But again Stuver was in the right place at the right time to make the save and keep the match scoreless.
That set the table for Gauld and Vite, as Vancouver won for the fifth time in eight all-time meetings with Austin (with two draws).
The Verde had two chances to knot the game in the waning minutes but Julio Cascante missed the target wide to the right on a shot with a goal expectation of 26 per cent in the sixth minute of added time. Ethan Finlay was high over the goal on a chance in the 99th minute.