Brian White brace rescues Vancouver Whitecaps against LAFC  | OneFootball

By MLSsoccer staff

Two shots, two goals.

Brian White was clinical as ever during Matchday 12’s highly anticipated Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire showdown with LAFC, salvaging a 2-2 draw for Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place.

After the Supporters’ Shield leaders went into a two-goal hole inside 20 minutes, the USMNT striker pulled one back in the 26th minute before equalizing in the 70th minute when nodding home Ali Ahmed’s headed pass.

“I just tried to make myself dangerous in the box, stay alive on the second ball from Ali,” White, who has 13 goals in 17 appearances (all competitions) this season, told MLS Season Pass sideline reporter Andrew Wiebe post-game.

“I was quite happy to get my head on it and help the team at least get a point.”

Golden Boot pace

With his brace, White is tied for the Golden Boot presented by Audi lead with eight goals – level with Chicho Arango (San Jose), Hugo Cuypers (Chicago) and Tai Baribo (Philadelphia).

The 29-year-old’s done it while appearing in just nine league games, returning Sunday from a minor hamstring injury.

“Brian is a player where when you have him on the pitch, you have the feeling he can always score,” head coach Jesper Sørensen said post-game. “It's a great feeling to have and he's been great for us all year long, also in the games where he hasn't scored.

“I just think, for me, when I talk to Brian, it's about not focusing too much to try to push towards his chances, but more let them occur naturally and don't force anything. I think he's found a very good balance of all the time helping the team and all the time being in positions in the box where we also want him to be when we're attacking.”

CCC looms

Vancouver end the weekend with a league-leading 27 points from 12 games, extending their lead atop the Western Conference table by also going seven games unbeaten (4W-0L-3D).

As they’re stacking results in MLS, Vancouver are three weeks away from the Concacaf Champions Cup final at Cruz Azul. That match, held June 1 in Mexico City, carries huge implications for a club that’s defied all preseason expectations.

“When you're in a Champions Cup final, you can feel it on the players,” Sørensen said. “You can also feel that there's noise around a game like that.

“Of course, it's a game that's not that far out in the future but we have some games played in between. But it's also a game that maybe fills up the space a little more than it should. It will always be the case and is normal.”

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