Brian White’s late goal gives Whitecaps a draw with Portland

VANCOUVER — Forward Brian White says with everything going on, it’s a great time to be back playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

White scored a late goal to secure a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers, extending the Whitecaps’ unbeaten streak to seven games in Major League Soccer play Wednesday night.

The Whitecaps have secured a playoff spot and are in a battle for first place overall in MLS. Vancouver has an MLS game against Seattle on Saturday, then on Wednesday plays Vancouver FC of the Canadian Premier League in the Canadian Championship final.

“It’s exciting,” said White, who entered the game as a second-half substitute after missing the last three matches across all competitions with a hamstring injury. “This is the fun part of the season, where these games really matter.

“It almost feels like we are in a playoff mode already. It’s just a matter of putting our best foot forward and every day.”

White came onto the pitch in the 60th minute with the Whitecaps down a goal. In the 88th minute, Sebastian Berhalter sent a corner kick into the box, fullback Mathias Laborda flicked the ball and White directed it into the net for his team-leading 15th goal of the MLS season.

The Whitecaps had a chance to win the match a few minutes later. The crowd of 20,212 at BC Place Stadium was on its feet when forward Emmanuel Sabbi hit the crossbar in extra time.

Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen said White’s presence gave the team a lift.

“He’s a guy that gives some momentum to his teammates when he gets on the pitch,” said Sorensen. “He’s been out for a while, and it was a nice to have him back.”

Portland left back Kamal Miller scored in the 39th minute on a shot from distance that found the top corner of the net.

It was the first goal the Whitecaps had given up in 325 minutes of play across all competitions.

It also meant goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka would have to wait to set a new team record for clean sheets in a season. He is currently tied with former Whitecap David Ousted with 13.

The Whitecaps (16-6-8) remain second in the MLS Western Conference with 56 points, one back of San Diego and just four behind Philadelphia in the overall league standings. Vancouver is 5-0-3 in its last eight matches across all competitions.

Portland (11-10-10) remains seventh in the West with 43 points. The Timbers are 1-3-3 in their last seven MLS games.

Thomas Müller, the former FC Bayern Munich superstar who signed with the Whitecaps in August, missed his second consecutive MLS match with an adductor injury. The 36-year-old has four goals in three MLS games, including a hat trick. He also has an assist.

The Whitecaps started slowly but gained traction as the match continued.

“We played with a little bit more urgency in the second half,” said Sorensen. “We had some better positions with the ball.

“We were not disciplined in the first half and we were also sloppy to begin with.”

Sorensen credited Takaoka with keeping Vancouver in the game early when it was outshot 7-0 in the first 16 minutes.

Takaoka stopped right winger Kristoffer Velde twice in the first five minutes. In the 11th minute, Velde banged a shot off the post on a breakaway. Takaoka then blocked shots from right back Ian Smith and midfielder Matias Rojas, before stopping Velde on a couple more chances.

Takaoka was tested again in the 36th minute, getting a hand on a header from forward Kevin Kelsey and sending it over top of the net.

Even though they were trailing, White didn’t feel panic on the Whitecaps.

“The first half wasn’t our best game,” he said. “Even the start of the second half I thought we were a lot more dangerous, a lot more on the attacking foot.

“For me coming in, I just wanted to get myself in a dangerous position and try and score. I was fortunate enough to be in a good spot.”

NOTES: The Whitecaps had no shots on goal in the first half. … Vancouver has already broken the team record of 53 points in a season, set in 2015. …Ousted had 13 shutouts for the Whitecaps in both 2014 and 2015.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps play in Seattle on Saturday.

The Timbers return to face FC Dallas at home Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.