Vancouver Whitecaps

Mosquera scored a hat-trick as Dallas cruised to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids at Toyota Stadium.

The Colombian opened the scoring four minutes before half-time, producing a neat finish into the bottom corner after a Michael Barrios cutback from the right.

The hosts doubled their lead shortly after the break through Franco Jara, who met Reto Ziegler's corner with a powerful header.

Dallas were in complete control approaching the hour-mark, Mosquera dispossessing a defender before finishing for 3-0.

Andre Shinyashiki pulled a goal back for the Rapids, but Mosquera completed his hat-trick with another clinical finish.

Mosquera became just the second Dallas player to score an MLS hat-trick at home in the past 11 years and first since Roland Lamah in 2017, according to Opta.

Dallas climbed into fourth in the Western Conference, while the Rapids are 10th.

After losing back-to-back matches to Montreal, the Whitecaps won their third meeting since August 3-1.

Thierry Henry's Montreal were dealt a huge blow with the game locked at 0-0 in the 37th minute as Rudy Camacho was sent off for lashing out at Fredy Montero.

Montero converted the penalty and Cristian Dajome scored before half-time, the former then sealing Vancouver's win after Romell Quioto had struck for Montreal.  

Vancouver climbed off the bottom of the west, while Montreal are fifth in the Eastern Conference.

In the day's other game, the struggling San Jose Earthquakes drew 1-1 with the Portland Timbers.

Former Manchester United attacker Nani scored and provided an assist in Orlando's 4-1 thrashing of the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

After Chris Mueller opened the scoring, he crossed for Nani to head in a second in the 24th minute.

Given a chance to get back into the game, Chicago squandered it when Alvaro Medran had a penalty well saved by Pedro Gallese.

Chicago took their next chance from the spot through Robert Beric early in the second half, but Orlando sealed their win late.

Junior Urso scrambled in from inside the area after Nani's set-piece went uncleared, and the Portuguese attacker's pass later found Benji Michel to finish off in additional time.

Orlando are second in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the high-flying Columbus Crew.

Second-half goals from Pedro Santos and Gyasi Zardes saw Columbus record a 2-0 win over Nashville.

Diego Valeri netted a brace as the Portland Timbers crushed the San Jose Earthquakes 6-1 at Avaya Stadium.

Fresh off confirming the signing of Gonzalo Higuain, Inter Miami recorded a second win in three matches by beating Atlanta United 2-1.

Elsewhere, a 10-man LA Galaxy fell to the Colorado Rapids 2-0 and Dallas also finished with 10 but recorded a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City.

Haris Medunjanin scored directly from a corner in the 85th minute as Cincinnati beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat a 10-man Real Salt Lake 2-1.

New York City drew 0-0 with the New England Revolution, DC United and Toronto played out a 2-2 draw, while the Houston Dynamo and Minnesota United did likewise.

Bruce Arena's side, who clinched their first-ever Supporters' Shield on Saturday, won thanks to Tajon Buchanan's 74th-minute strike.

The result took Revolution's season tally to 73 points from 33 games, eclipsing the previous record mark held by LAFC with 72 points in 2019.

New England have one more regular season match to extend their record, playing Inter Miami at home on November 7.

Canada international Buchanan came up with the winner, showing fast feet to make space for a low shot that beat Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who had sensationally kept out Henry Kessler from close range minutes earlier.

New York Red Bulls slipped out of the Eastern Conference play-offs spots after a 1-0 defeat to DC United who moved above them into seventh place.

United snapped a four-game winless skid, while also ending the Red Bulls' four-game running run and eight-game unbeaten streak in the process. Kevin Paredes side-footed home the ninth-minute winner for United.

Sporting KC moved into top spot in the Western Conference and dented LA Galaxy's play-offs aspirations with a 2-0 win.

Johnny Russell extended his scoring run to eight straight games with both goals for KC who clinched a top-four seeding as well.

Randall Leal scored two goals and grabbed an assist as Nashville came from two goals down twice to win 6-3 at Cincinnati.

Portland Timbers moved in the west's top four with a 2-0 home victory over San Jose Earthquakes, while Vancouver Whitecaps climbed up to fifth with a 2-1 triumph over Minnesota United.

New York City boosted their Eastern Conference top-four seed hopes with a 1-0 home win over Chicago Fire, while Josef Martinez's winner helped Atlanta United past Inter Miami 2-1 after Gonzalo Higuain had opened the scoring from the spot.

Columbus Crew upset Orlando City 3-2, Toronto held Philadelphia Union 2-2 as Jozy Altidore netted while Real Salt Lake scored twice in the final 10 minutes to win 2-1 at Dallas.

The Galaxy, who were without Javier Hernandez due to injury and Jonathan dos Santos, Efrain Alvarez and Sebastian Lletget to Gold Cup call-ups, were brushed aside by Dallas who were last in the Western Conference prior to the game.

Pepi, who turned 18 in January, becomes the youngest player in MLS history to net a hat-trick.

The teenager netted twice in the first half before completed his treble with a low shot from the edge of the box in the 50th minute.

Substitute Jader Obrian added another in the 88th minute as Dallas moved up to 10th in the west, while the Galaxy are third but are winless in their past three.

Carlos Vela got on the scoresheet as LAFC came from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 home draw with struggling Vancouver Whitecaps.

Colombian pair Deiber Caicedo and Cristian Dajome had put the Whitecaps two-up inside the first 38 minutes, before Vela pulled one back in the 40th minute.

Diego Palacios provided the pass for fellow Ecuadorian Jose Cifuentes to level in the 75th minute.

Charles Sapong scored twice as Nashville SC moved up into second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 victory over Cincinnati.

Toronto maintained their good recent run with a 2-1 win at Chicago Fire, while Minnesota United scored twice in the final 20 minutes to win 2-1 over Portland Timbers.

San Jose Earthquakes drew 1-1 with Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake won 3-0 over Colorado Rapids.

Cristian Roldan inspired Seattle to a 3-1 win over the Galaxy in California.

Roldan opened the scoring in the 12th minute, completing a fine team move by getting on the end of a Jordan Morris cross.

Morris doubled the lead seven minutes before half-time, finishing after a lovely pass from Nicolas Lodeiro.

Roldan produced a clinical finish from a Joao Paulo pass to make it 3-0 just after the hour-mark, with Seattle winning despite Sebastian Lletget's late goal for the LA Galaxy.

It marked Roldan's third multi-goal game in MLS, and two have come against the Galaxy.

Seattle are top of the Western Conference, equal on points with the Portland Timbers, who recorded a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

After joining Inter Miami following his Juventus release, Higuain had a tough debut in a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union.

Higuain hit the outside of the post with a bicycle kick and later put a penalty over the crossbar.

Anthony Fontana, Ilsinho and Brenden Aaronson scored for Philadelphia, who are second in the Eastern Conference.

Higuain, meanwhile, has failed to convert his past four penalties in all competitions.

Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew fell to a 3-1 loss to Toronto.

The New York Red Bulls thrashed the Montreal Impact 4-1, the New England Revolution beat DC United 2-0 and Chicago Fire overcame Atlanta United 2-0.

Minnesota United played out a goalless draw with Real Salt Lake, while Dallas' clash with Orlando City also finished 0-0.

The San Jose Earthquakes ended a nine-game winless run by beating Los Angeles FC 2-1.

Australian full-back Brad Smith provided an assist for Ruidiaz's 20th-minute opener, before scoring a goal himself three minutes later, forcing home a rebound.

Ruidiaz settled the contest in second-half stoppage time when he fired home on his left foot from substitute Jimmy Medranda's low cross.

The Sounders dulled the threat of Galaxy forward Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez – who had scored five goals in his opening two games – in a strong display, where they marginally lost possession but had nine to two shots on target.

The win moves Seattle to seven points from three games to start the new campaign, while the Galaxy suffered their first blemish of the campaign after scoring six goals in their opening two games.

Inter Miami drew a blank in the absence of the Higuain brothers with a 0-0 draw away to Nashville.

Former Juventus and Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain and brother Federico were unavailable for the match after flying back to their native Argentina following the death of their mother to cancer.

The Higuain brothers' team-mates offered a wonderful sign of support ahead of the game.

Inter Miami – co-owned by former Manchester United, Madrid and England star David Beckham – have four points from three games, while Nashville are still winless but have drawn all three matches this season.

Diego Rubio's incredible free-kick helped Colorado Rapids to a 1-0 victory away to Vancouver Whitecaps.

Rubio struck in the 26th minute with a curling right-foot shot that found the top corner, going in off the post and crossbar.

The spectacular strike earned the Rapids their first three points of the season, while condemning the Whitecaps to their first defeat.

Sergio Santos netted three times as Philadelphia crushed Toronto 5-0 at Subaru Park on Saturday.

The result equalled the Union's biggest ever win and Toronto's largest defeat, as per Opta.

Philadelphia needed until the 27th minute to get going, Sergio Santos heading in a wonderful cross from Kai Wagner.

Just six minutes later and the hosts doubled their lead, Mark McKenzie heading in from close range after a corner.

Jamiro scored a spectacular third for Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia in the 56th minute, his 20-yard effort going in off the underside of the crossbar.

Sergio Santos put away two more to complete his hat-trick – the fourth in the Union's history and first since C.J. Sapong in May 2017.

Western Conference leaders Sporting also enjoyed a fine win, thrashing the Colorado Rapids 4-0.

Alan Pulido, Andreu Fontas, Gadi Kinda and Gerso Fernandes netted in the victory.

Leandro Gonzalez Pirez's 89th-minute winner saw Inter Miami – without the suspended Gonzalo Higuain – edge Orlando City 2-1, while DC United overcame Atlanta United 2-1.

New York City recorded a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps were too good for the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.

The Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls drew 2-2, Minnesota United edged Cincinnati 1-0, Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew drew 1-1 and Real Salt Lake and Dallas played out a goalless draw.

The Sounders remain undefeated through six matches this season thanks to a two-goal second half at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Entering the contest, Seattle had 13 points from their first five matches for the second time in the last three seasons – the only team in the last 20 seasons to have at least 13 points after five games more than once.

The Sounders stayed hot courtesy of Xavier Arreaga and Brad Smith – the former opening the scoring in the 57th minute.

Smith doubled the lead with 17 minutes remaining when the Australian full-back pounced for his third goal of the season.

The Sounders are four points clear of LA Galaxy in the Western Conference, while Sporting Kansas City are a point further back in third following their 3-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps.

LAFC are bottom of the west with five points from five matches in 2021.

Former Juventus and Real Madrid forward Higuain was the hero for Inter Miami, who prevailed 3-2 in a thriller at Cincinnati.

Higuain scored the winning goal five minutes from the end after Cincinnati's Nick Hagglund has restored parity three minutes earlier.

David Beckham's Inter Miami – led by former Manchester United team-mate and head coach Phil Neville – raced out to a 2-0 half-time lead via Brek Shea and Higuain before Cincinnati rallied with goals from Alvaro Barreal and Hagglund.

Former Argentina international Higuain, though, had the final say with his fourth goal of the season.

Elsewhere, New England Revolution topped defending champions Columbus Crew 1-0 and Orlando City beat DC United by the same scoreline.

Orlando have opened the season unbeaten in their first five games (W2 D3). The Lions have lost just three regular-season matches since the end of the MLS is Back Tournament, fewer than any other team that was in MLS both last season and this.

Sporting claimed a 2-1 win over Minnesota United at Allianz Field to pull clear atop the Western Conference.

Michael Boxall's 55th-minute own goal proved decisive as Sporting claimed a fifth win in six MLS games, going four points clear of second-placed Minnesota.

Gadi Kinda got on the end of a Jaylin Lindsey cross to give Peter Vermes' Sporting a 12th-minute lead.

Minnesota were level just after the half-hour mark, an unfortunate deflection off Lindsey leading to an own goal.

But Boxall turned a cross into his own net 10 minutes into the second half for what proved to be the winner.

Toronto recorded a second win in four days over the Vancouver Whitecaps with a 1-0 victory.

Richie Laryea's low finish in the 15th minute was all Toronto needed, getting back to within a point of Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew.

In the day's other games, Cincinnati and DC United drew 0-0, while the Houston Dynamo's clash with Dallas also finished goalless.

Toronto moved level on points with Philadelphia after a 2-1 win over Inter Miami and the Union's 2-1 defeat to Columbus Crew on Sunday.

Columbus took a 37th-minute lead at home, Artur finding the bottom corner from 20 yards.

However, Philadelphia drew level in the 57th minute thanks to a penalty from Jamiro, although the hosts would strike late.

Krisztian Nemeth got on the end of a Luis Diaz Espinoza cross from the right to tap away a winner six minutes from time for Columbus, who are third in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto boosted their chances of winning the Supporters' Shield by overcoming Inter Miami.

Former Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi opened the scoring for Inter Miami with his first MLS goal.

But Toronto would win after conceding the opening goal for the third time this season, which is tied for the most with San Jose Earthquakes, as per Opta.

Ayo Akinola scored a fine equaliser after outmuscling his opponent before Gonzalo Higuain almost responded for Inter Miami, hitting the crossbar with a powerful 20-yard effort in the 79th minute.

Instead, Alejandro Pozuelo tucked away an 84th-minute penalty for the winner for Toronto.

Pozuelo has scored each of his past seven penalties for Toronto in MLS.

Valentin Castellanos scored a hat-trick to inspire New York City to a 5-2 derby win over the Red Bulls.

Castellanos became just the second player to net a hat-trick in the Hudson River Derby, joining David Villa (2017).

Elsewhere, Teal Bunbury's brace saw New England Revolution overcome DC United 4-3 in a thriller and Atlanta United beat Cincinnati 2-0.

Orlando City edged Montreal Impact 1-0, Colorado Rapids beat Seattle Sounders 3-1, the Portland Timbers overcame the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 and LA Galaxy edged Real Salt Lake 2-1.

Alejandro Pozuelo's fine run of form continued as Toronto came from behind to beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in Connecticut.

Sergio Santos' delicate chip had put Philadelphia ahead in the fifth minute, but Toronto fought back in the second half.

Ayo Akinola headed in a Tony Gallacher cross from the left approaching the hour-mark to bring Greg Vanney's side level.

Pozuelo scored what proved to be the winner in the 76th minute, heading in at the back post following a corner.

As Toronto won for the 10th time in their past 13 meetings with the Union, Pozuelo has been directly involved in 10 goals since the MLS regular season resumed in August, as per Opta.

Toronto joined Columbus on 31 points atop the Eastern Conference after the Crew were held to a 2-2 draw by Dallas.

LA Galaxy are bottom of the Western Conference after slumping to a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the California Clasico.

The Galaxy seemed on track when Sebastian Lletget put away the opener after Javier Hernandez hit the post, and goalkeeper David Bingham saved Chris Wondolowski's 12th-minute penalty.

But Marcos Lopez drilled in a wonderful equaliser before half-time, and Andres Rios made no mistake with San Jose's second spot-kick of the game in the 82nd minute.

Orlando City continued their fine season with a 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls.

The club's tally of 29 points from their first 15 matches is five more than they have ever had through the same number of games in any previous campaign, according to Opta.

Gonzalo Higuain's Inter Miami fell to a 3-2 loss to New York City, while Atlanta United crushed DC United 4-0.

Montreal Impact and Chicago Fire drew 2-2, Alan Pulido scored a brace as Sporting Kansas City edged Houston Dynamo 2-1 and Minnesota United enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati.

Western Conference leaders the Seattle Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1, while the clash between the New England Revolution and Nashville finished goalless.

White scored a hat-trick as the Whitecaps moved within just one point of the seventh and final post-season spot in the Western Conference heading into the last seven matches of the regular season.

A recruit from New York Red Bulls following June's trade, White – who has scored eight goals in his past nine games – opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

White doubled the lead with a header approaching the hour mark before completing his first career hat-trick 17 minutes from the end – using his head to get on the end of Ryan Gauld's corner.

Montreal topped fellow Eastern Conference play-off hopefuls Atlanta United 2-1 courtesy of Romell Quioto's double.

Heading into the fixture, twelve of the last 15 goals conceded by Atlanta had come in the second half of their games and none of those 15 goals were shipped in the first half an hour.

Quioto scored a five-minute brace inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half to lift Montreal up to fifth in the east, while striking a blow to Atlanta's post-season chances.

Atlanta are eighth and outside the play-off spots – level on points with seventh-placed Philadelphia Union, who have played two games less.

Elsewhere, Orlando City catapulted themselves up to third in the Eastern Conference after Daryl Dike's 97th-minute goal snatched a 2-1 win over DC United, the Red Bulls edged FC Cincinnati 1-0, Austin defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 and Dallas played out a 0-0 draw with 10-man Minnesota United.

Vancouver, who snapped an eight-game winless run with a 2-1 win over LA Galaxy last time out, drew a blank with eight shots but none on target.

Cristian Dajome came close in the 20th minute for the Whitecaps from Deiber Caicedo's ball.

Dynamo forward Maximiliano Urruti had a free-kick hit the post, before Vancouver's Cristian Gutierrez curled wide in the second half.

The result extends Houston's winless run to seven games, having drawn five of their past six.

Vancouver moves up to 11th in the Western Conference with 13 points from 14 games, while Houston are ninth with 16 points.

In their opening 13 games, New England only had two wins on the board in the Eastern Conference, sitting bottom with seven points.

Though they still prop up the standings, they are now on 13 points after wins over Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls, with Porter hopeful they can keep building on this momentum.

"The biggest key is our mentality has been stronger," Porter said, as quoted in The Blazing Musket substack.

"We're finding ways to get results. That evolution, I'm very pleased with, so I think, for me, it's unquestionable, we're evolving in every aspect."

"We know we're in a hole, there's no doubt about it. We have to continue to fight our way out, and it's going to take every game, and it's going to take until the end of the season."

Vancouver, meanwhile, are fifth in the Western Conference after back-to-back victories of their own against Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids.

After their mid-season break, Vanni Sartini is aiming to improve on some of the weaknesses shown in the first half of the campaign.

"I think we did okay [in the first half]," he said. "We're doing well. I think that we were doing very well defensively - I'd say the best in my years as head coach here.

"I think we can do a little more in the final third. We are playing well, but we need to be better at finishing the action more. If we can do that, we can aspire to go to the top four positions."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Carles Gil

Gil assisted Emmanuel Boateng on the lone goal of the match in New England's win Saturday. The Spaniard has been involved in seven (five goals, two assists) of the Revs’ 12 goals this season.

Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

Gauld assisted both of Vancouver's goals in their win over Colorado on June 1, taking him to 31 assists to go along with 30 goals in regular-season play.

The Scotsman is one of three players (Luciano Acosta, Hany Mukhtar) with at least 30 goals and 30 assists since he joined the MLS in August 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

The Revolution have lost only two of their 11 all-time meetings with Vancouver (W5 D4), including winning four of the six meetings at Gillette Stadium (D1 L1).

New England have also won back-to-back matches for the first time since July last year after winning just two of their first 13 league matches this season. All four of New England's wins this year have been by a one-goal margin.

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps have won back-to-back matches, recording 2-1 wins against Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids. This is Vancouver's sixth set of consecutive wins since the start of last season, though they have not won three league matches in a row since September-October 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 38.6%

Draw – 26.5%

Vancouver Whitecaps – 34.9%

Vancouver have enjoyed a fine start to the MLS season and sit second in the Western Conference.

The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are in second place in the East.

This game will be the first meeting of the teams since 2019, and Sartini joked that facing sides from a different Conference is akin to a trip to a casino.

He said: “It’s going to be hard. It’s like going to the casino when you play the Eastern teams – you never know!

“Maybe you’ll face the team in last, the team that’s in first place. Unfortunately, this season we’re going to play the Red Bulls, who are doing very well.”

Explaining what he expects to see from the Red Bulls, Sartini added: “They’re a team with a very distinct and particular style of play, like we have, to be honest.

“We need to be very intense, because that’s what they are, they are very intense in pressing, counter-pressing, counter-attacks and we need to be very well organised. It’s a game that will be decided in the second half, it’s going to be tight until the end – that’s what I feel.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan

Morgan is enjoying a fine campaign, and he leads the Red Bulls’ scoring efforts with six goals in MLS.

Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White

White joined the ‘Caps from the Red Bulls in 2021. He has scored four goals in MLS this season, making him Vancouver’s leading scorer.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

Ryan Gauld and White have each contributed to at least one goal in their last five MLS appearances, equalling the longest streak in Whitecaps’ history. Prior to them, only three players in team history had recorded a goal contribution in five straight matches.

With 16 points through eight matches, the Whitecaps are off to the joint-best eight-match start in club history (also 2015). Vancouver have never had more than 17 points (2012) after nine matches of a season before.

The Red Bulls have lost only one of their first nine matches this season (W4 D4), the second time in club history they have had fewer than two losses at this stage of a season, along with their Supporters’ Shield winning 2015 campaign (also W4 D4 L1).

Six of the 12 all-time meetings between the Red Bulls and Whitecaps have been drawn (Whitecaps W4, Red Bulls W2), but New York are anticipated to win this one.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

NYRB – 48.9%

Vancouver Whitecaps – 23.3%

Draw – 27.8%

A day after the MLS is Back Tournament was announced, the league held a draw for the group stage on Thursday, placing the 26 teams into six groups.

Sixteen teams will then progress to the knockout stage, which will begin on July 25 ahead of an August 11 final.

Aside from the opening match, the rest of the tournament schedule has yet to be announced.

The groups for the MLS is Back Tournament:

Group A (Eastern Conference): Orlando City, Inter Miami, New York City, Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire, Nashville SC.
Group B (Western Conference): Seattle Sounders, Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps, San Jose Earthquakes.
Group C (Eastern Conference): Toronto, New England Revolution, Montreal Impact, DC United.
Group D (Western Conference): Real Salt Lake, Sporting Kansas City, Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United.
Group E (Eastern Conference): Atlanta United, FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls, Columbus Crew.
Group F (Western Conference): Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers.

The 52-year-old, who has been head of the country’s national team since 2020, has faced resurfaced allegations that he attempted to force himself on a player in 2010, during his time as coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s team.

Busby has denied the allegations in a previous report, but the Whitecaps did part ways with the coach sometime after the accusations surfaced.  The team, however, made no mention of allegations of sexual misconduct being the reason he was fired.

Major League Soccer announced that it would conduct investigations into how that situation was handled.  The JFF for its part has asked its parent body FIFA to conduct a full investigation into the incident, which will determine the next steps to be taken. 

“We will await the evidence of the FIFA investigation.  We do not want to make permanent decisions until we have the facts.  At the same time, we have to ensure that our women and girls are protected by those who lead them,” JFF president Michael Ricketts said via a press release.

Busby coached the team in two practice matches against Costa Rica and was expected to lead a camp later this month.

Piatti opened his MLS account with a double before Nick DeLeon's late goal at BMO Field as Toronto moved within a point of Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew.

The former Espanyol and Valencia attacker arrived at Toronto in February and showed his class.

Piatti unleashed a stunning 27th-minute opener for Toronto with a 30-yard rocket.

Toronto doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half as Piatti struck again.

After receiving a pass from Jonathan Osorio, Piatti found the bottom corner from inside the area.

DeLeon came off the bench to seal the win in the 83rd minute, curling in after a wonderful pass from Alejandro Pozuelo.

It was all Galaxy in the first half, controlling 71 per cent of the possession while not allowing a single shot on target, but that all changed after what must have been an inspired half-time team talk in the Vancouver dressing room.

While Los Angeles still had the bulk of the possession in the second half (64 per cent), it was the Whitecaps generating the chances, with six shots on target to the Galaxy's two.

It took a corner to produce the opening goal, with an initial sharp header from close range being saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, before Ryan Gauld was able to force home the rebound in the 57th minute.

The advantage was doubled 11 minutes later when an unsuccessful Los Angeles corner launched a Vancouver counterattack, with a cross into the near post being expertly flicked on for Pedro Vite to tap-in at the back post, marking his first MLS goal.

Tosaint Ricketts came off the bench to complete the rout, getting behind the defence and finishing off a one-on-one in the 88th minute to trim the gap between Vancouver and the last Western Conference playoff spot to six points.

Meanwhile, it was the first time since July that Atlanta United have kept a clean sheet as they left Orlando City with a 1-0 result.

The only goal of the game – despite a combined 30 shots – came in the 72nd minute when Thiago Almada snaked his way into the penalty box, getting on the end of a one-two with Andrew Gutman before tucking away his match-winning finish.

Atlanta are now two points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, while Orlando City are one point inside that line, while also having a game in hand.

Austin FC strengthened their position as the West's second-best team, comfortably handling the challenge of fellow playoff side Real Salt Lake 3-0 at home.

Just like Vancouver, Austin piled on all of their goals in the last half-hour, with Moussa Djite bagging a hat-trick as he came on in the 58th minute and struck in the 60th, 76th and 80th.

In the final game of the day, the San Jose Earthquakes remained stuck to the bottom of the table as they went down 2-1 on the road against the Colorado Rapids.

The Whitecaps snapped a six-match winless run in MLS last time out, seeing out a 2-1 victory against Sporting Kansas City in midweek.

It moves them up to sixth in the Western Conference, where they will have the chance to keep their name in the mix at the top with another win.

Sartini was upbeat following their victory, but was quick to point out they would not be thinking about that result for too long.

"The good vibes [after the win] ended on Friday morning. Then we start thinking about Colorado, but we think about it in a completely different way after a win," Sartini said.

"If we beat them, we get away from them [in the table] and it would put us in a good position going into the [international] break. It's a completely different feeling, but we're very happy to approach the game in this way."

Colorado are also on 26 points, only behind Vancouver due to their inferior goal difference.

The Rapids have won only one of their last five outings, and head coach Chris Armas admits there is still work to be done if they want to get back to winning ways.

"We're a work in progress," he said. "We're going to make mistakes, we have a fairly young squad, so we will make mistakes, and we need to work on that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vancouver Whitecaps – Ryan Gauld

Gauld scored his fourth regular-season brace in Vancouver's win at Kansas City on Wednesday.

That saw him equal Eric Hassli, Fredy Montero, and Pedro Morales for the second-most multi-goal games for the Whitecaps, behind only Camilo Sanvezzo (eight).

Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

Mihailovic has been involved in a goal in five of his last six MLS appearances (two goals, three assists), including the last three in a row.

The American has recorded a goal contribution in four straight appearances once before in his MLS career, doing so with CF Montreal between September and October 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN

The Whitecaps have lost only one of their last nine matches against the Rapids in Vancouver (won four, drawn four) dating back to October 2014, including going unbeaten in the last three at BC Place (won one, drawn two).

However, Vancouver have lost two of their last three home matches, including a 2-1 defeat to Inter Miami on Saturday.

The Whitecaps have suffered back-to-back home defeats in MLS only once since returning to BC Place in 2021, doing so in July 2022 against Minnesota United and Chicago Fire.

Colorado have lost their last two away matches, conceding eight goals along the way. The Rapids had lost only one of their previous six on the road (won three, drawn two), allowing a total of six goals in those games.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Vancouver Whitecaps – 50.3%

Draw – 25.1%

Colorado Rapids – 24.5%