Report Card: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes

The Whitecaps began their Orlando journey with a frustrating loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. Early promise was floundered as constant attacks on the Caps’ net inevitably led to the biggest comeback seen in the tournament so far. Looking towards Seattle, the team has a lot of things to reflect and work on.

Max Crepeau: 6.5

Crepeau played as well as he usually does, making multiple key stops that kept the Whitecaps in the lead for a lot longer than they had any right to be. The goals scored against him seemed to be more related to the defense than Max himself.

Ali Adnan: 7.5

Arguably the best player on the field, Ali was the only Whitecaps player to score from a direct Whitecaps buildup. While his defending was sometimes spotty, especially on his tracking, he provided enough support both offensive and defensive for it to be overlooked. Lots of runs with the ball and off the ball, if he can keep this level of play along with inspiring his teammates to do the same, the Whitecaps can avoid having something like this happen again.

Ranko Veselinović: 6.5

Ranko’s debut, while disappointing, showed a lot of promise. Solid defensively, if the score wasn’t what it was, he would have had a higher score. Seemed very confident in his tackles and even more so, in his runs, which could be seen as quite scary considering how far up he tracked on his runs. Seems like a solid player for the future with high potential.

Jasser Khmiri: 4

Khmiri left a lot to be desired defensively, arguably making a case for why Cornelius and Godoy should be higher on the pecking order than him. Outside of the corners, Khmiri didn’t play terrible, but when it came to setpieces and getting in the air he seemed to be way too late in jumping or just wasn’t in the right spots. The sour spot of the team today, let’s hope this game functions as a wake up call for him.

Jake Nerwinski: 6

Nerwinski played a very attacking role this game, pushing up as Owusu dropped, adding a new dimension to the right flank, and looked positive when he did. Defensively he played his part the way he usually does, with nothing standing out other than some lax marking on the defensive.

David Milinkovic: 6.5

An unsung hero of the night, Milinkovic appeared right as he needed to for most of the night, making good runs both on the left and the right. His positioning on the pass out by Vega allowed him to take the ball and pass it to Dajome for his first MLS goal. He didn’t look quite as instrumental as he did in the previous two games but it wasn’t a bad showing on his end.

Russell Teibert: 6

Russel Tiebert played an important game today, as he was named team captain on his 200th cap for the club. In his defense, he did a serviceable job in midfield as he usually does, with nothing of his game particularly standing out aside from his work rate. Got stuck in more than Hwang seemed to do, but that’s the most one can say about his shift.

In-Beom Hwang: 5.5

Hwang was not at his best today, but did get some key passes to his teammates out, notably the one to Ali Adnan for the opening goal. Invisible in a formation which would have allowed him more freedom to roam and cause an impact, let’s hope that his spotty form from the previous season doesn’t return in the future and that he plays at his consistent best.

Leonard Owusu: 7

A strong debut capped off with an unfortunate injury, Owusu seems like the real deal that the Caps bargained for. A steady dribbler who could place a pass, Owusu’s best asset in game was his defensive effort which allowed the Whitecaps to keep the score decent until the latter half of the second period.

Cristian Dajome: 7

One of the high notes of the team today, Dajome made many effective runs, and could have easily had two goals if Reyna’s pass had been a little better. He provided an attacking spark on the wing, but it seemed that he got tired towards the end and his early speed suffered due to this. Of course scoring his first goal to get the Whitecaps 3-1 is no short feat, even though it was a giveaway goal, but it does mark him as one of the better performers today.

Yordy Reyna: 6.5

Yordy played his role this game rather well, but didn’t provide anything revolutionary. His false nine position allowed him to stay deep while also getting passes off in key positions. His highlight was obviously the run that led to Judson’s own goal and was solid in providing pressure to the San Jose back line.

Ryan Raposo: 5

Positive runs made, too late of a sub to make an impact, but did not drag the team down with his play.

Theo Bair: 5

Theo roamed the best he could during his time on the field, but it was a little hard for him to get the ball when most of the end of the game was spent in the Whitecaps’ third.

Patrick Metcalfe: N/A

Was not involved enough to give a proper rating.

Sub 4: N/A

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Sub 5: N/A

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