Music: {allcanada} 10-man Whitecaps fall short vs. D.C. United

Saturday, April 25, 2015

{allcanada} 10-man Whitecaps fall short vs. D.C. United

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VANCOUVER - Chris Rolfe scored in the 64th minute to give D.C. United a 2-1 victory over the 10-man Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS play Saturday night.

Rolfe made a fine run but benefited from a good bounce as Steven Beitashour's tackle separated the ball from a D.C. teammate only to see it slide over to Rolfe who banged it home.

The win, its first ever at B.C. Place Stadium, extended D.C. United's unbeaten streak to five games.

It was an evening of end-to-end action, with additional drama thanks to a goal 70 seconds in from Whitecaps captain Pedro Morales, injury and referee David Gantar, who was booed much of the night.

Despite being down a man, the home side kept probing at the D.C. defence with six minutes of extra time adding to the tension. Vancouver striker Octavio Rivero, with goalie David Ousted joining the attack, drove the ball wide from a corner in stoppage time.

Sam Adekugbe put the ball wide soon after as the Whitecaps finished strong.

Vancouver (5-3-1) was reduced to 10 men in the 42nd minute when Gantar showed influential holding midfielder Matias Laba a second yellow for clipping the foot of an onrushing Fabian Espindola, who made the most of the contact. Laba had also been shown a card in the 34th minute for handball.

D.C. United (4-1-2) had to resort to third-string goalie Travis Worra, a 22-year-old making his MLS debut, after Andrew Dykstra left injured in the 58th minute. Starter Bill Hamid sat out for the second game in a row due to a thigh contusion.

Bobby Boswell also scored for D.C. United.

Uruguayan Cristian Techera, a five-foot-two winger, made his MLS debut for Vancouver in the 76th minute.

The contest was a matchup of marquee teams. The Whitecaps lead the league while D.C. United started the day in a three-way tie for points atop the Eastern Conference.

The soldout crowd of 21,000 chose to watch soccer over hockey, with the Canucks in Calgary for Game 6 of their playoff series. They missed a playoff-ending loss for the local hockey team.

The visitors were boosted by the return of Argentina's Espindola from a six-game suspension for shoving an assistant referee in last year's playoffs. Espindola led the team with 11 goals and nine assists in 2014.

Morales, returning from a one-game red-card suspension, put Vancouver ahead in the second minute. Rivero played provider, picking out an unmarked Morales at the edge of the penalty box as three D.C. United defenders were drawn to two other Whitecaps in the box.

Morales beat Dykstra for his first of the season with a well-placed right-footer. D.C. United thought Beitashour's ball to Rivero was offside.

Boswell responded in the ninth minute, beating Adekugbe — whose foul started the play — to head in the tying goal from a Michael Farfan cross off a throw-in. It was D.C.'s first goal against Vancouver since October 2011.

Morales was feeling it, trying a long-distance chip late in the half.

Ousted made wonderful back-to-back saves off Espindola and Rolfe in the 54th minute, preserving the tie. Second later Vancouver's Mauro Rosales, with a delightful turn, hit the goalpost and Morales' shot off the rebound was blocked by defender Sean Franklin.

The Whitecaps were coming off a two-game road trip that saw them lose in San Jose and post a first-ever win in Salt Lake.

The roof was closed Saturday due to an issue with a roof sensor.

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