Report Card: Rating a comprehensive Whitecaps performance against San Jose

While it was the Brian White show Saturday at BC Place, the rest of the Whitecaps turned in strong performances in a must-win match against San Jose. How good was the match? Read on for our player ratings and find out.

Max Crepeau: 6.5

No heroics needed from Crepeau in this one — he had five saves to make and made them all comfortable. Got more help from the defense here in this one, really the least they could do. Even had a couple of animated tete a tetes with the Quakes when things got heated.

Florian Jungwirth: 7

Clearly a match where Jungwirth a little extra personal motivation and he rose to the occasion. Good to have his long passing abilities back (he had double the long balls of the other defenders) for a full 90 minutes and he even made a few forays forward himself. Steady at the back as well and perhaps used his inside knowledge to position himself well. Beginning to look like an inspired signing.

Andy Rose: 7

Was steady in the center of the back three and had the best passing of the three centerbacks. A couple loose touches but there wasn’t much to nitpick from any of the back 3, who mopped up San Jose’s few efforts into the box.

Jake Nerwinski: 7

Has quietly turned into a very good right center back and it allows him to use many of his best attributes without having to go toe to toe with pacier wide player. Was the least error prone of the 3 CBs and had a couple nice moments clearing some rare Quakes forays into the box.

Bruno Gaspar: 6.5

In a season where Gaspar has struggled to keep a place in the team, I thought he turned in one of his better performances Saturday. It wasn’t super dynamic but it was generally solid, though his clearances gave me some anxiety. Had a couple nice passing moments as well.

Russell Teibert: 7

Looking like a totally different player under Vanni Sartini, Rusty continued his good form Saturday. Chance creation was on point, with a pair of key passes and he looks quite assured on the ball, mixing in a twirl around some Quakes defenders. And like most all of the backline and midfield, he was excellent in helping keep structure and force San Jose to nibble around the edges rather than find passing channels between the midfield and back 3.

Leonard Owusu: 7.5

It was a bit of an anonymous start for Owusu but his sparkling tackle and run set up the first goal. It was the embodiment of everything Owusu has shown in tantalizing flashes and he built on that moment from there. Had a couple of other moments where his dirty work sparked a chance on the other end and while he misplaced a few passes, this is another momentum building performance for a player who has appeared to have displaced Janio Bikel from the starting XI. Major credit to him got doing all this while on a yellow card for much of the match.

Cristian Dajome: 6.5

Unlucky not to have a goal or assist of his own, working hard on his frequent moves forward and frequently linking up with Caicedo and Gauld to good effect. Excellent passing accuracy, even though he did not directly create too many chances from those passes. Was motoring forward right up until the very end.

Ryan Gauld: 8

Was dangerous with his set piece deliver — he could have teed up another goal for White earlier on in the first half. Was creative per usual and was pulling the strings from the center of the park and out wide in equal measure. His assist was a deserved way of marking the evening’s performance.

Brian White: 9.5

A truly spectacular performance, worthy of the Caps’ first hat trick in 3 years. For all the attention on his goal scoring prowess, White was adept at picking out some nice passes, particularly in his interplay with Caicedo. And nothing more needs to be said about his finishing, which is confident and pinpoint at the moment. His third goal in particular was sumptuous. Has displaced Lucas Cavallini at the top of the forward hierarchy and is arguably the most in form striker in the league. Couldn’t ask for anything more

Deiber Caicedo: 7

Had some nice interplay with the other attacking band players but didn’t quite have the final product that he needed to convert some of his hard work into clear cut chances. Had excellent delivery on White’s second, with set pieces becoming a real hallmark of Caicedo’s game.

Tosaint Ricketts: 6

Didn’t have a ton to do in his 11 touches. Those basically all came on one foray forward where he had some nice hold up play.

Javain Brown: 6

Brought a predictably more dynamic edge to the match than Gaspar but wasn’t quite as buttoned up defensively. Is docked for a silly yellow card at the death.

Ryan Raposo: N/A

Kam Habibullah: N/A

Good to have a manager who remembers that Kam exists.

Janio Bikel: N/A

Will have been disappointed not to start, though it’s a good problem for the Caps to have.