Brian White scored a first-half brace and the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps comfortably secured their first MLS Cup final appearance with a 3-1 victory over host San Diego FC in the Western Conference Final on Saturday night.
Andres Cubas and Ali Ahmed connected to set up both of White’s goals for No. 2 seed Vancouver, which will visit East champion Inter Miami next Saturday in a meeting of teams who have never played for the MLS championship, let alone won it.
It’s also a rematch of this April’s Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals, which Vancouver won 5-1 on aggregate over two legs.
Ahmed also had the shot that led to Vancouver’s other first-half tally, ultimately credited as an own goal to San Diego goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega.
Halftime substitute Hirving Lozano broke through in the 60th minute for top-seeded San Diego, which completed the deepest playoff run by an MLS expansion side since the Chicago Fire won the 1998 MLS Cup.
The hosts finished with 10 men after Sisniega was sent off in the 79th minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Despite scoring 16 regular-season goals, recent injuries had prevented White from scoring since late September.
That changed quickly during Vancouver’s brilliant first half.
Cubas did exceptional work to set up White’s first, creating the opportunity by forcing a turnover on the left flank before combining on an intricate sequence with Ahmed to get into the left side of the penalty area.
From there, Cubas guided a low ball to the back post where White met it with a sliding finish from close range in the eighth minute.
Three minutes later, Emmanuel Sabbi worked down the right by combining with Thomas Muller before seeing Sisniega deny his effort from in close.
The rebound rolled to the penalty area where Ahmed met it with a first-time strike which the scrambling Sisniega saved, only to inadvertently turn it across his own line.
White used his chest to guide in his second goal after another combination from Cubas and Ahmed down the left, this time with Ahmed providing the final outswinging service to pick out White only a couple of yards out and in plenty of space in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
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