VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps hosted D.C. United on Saturday night and both teams picked up their first draw of the season in what ended up as a 0-0 affair in front of 19,394 fans at B.C. Place.
The match started off slowly. Although there were some clever touches in midfield from Vancouver's Camilo, Eric Hassli and Davide Chiumiento, they didn't lead to anything meaningful for the home team, which just had the edge in possession with 51.6 percent of the ball.
The Whitecaps’ best chance came on 30 minutes, as Camilo ran down the left side before hitting a cross into Hassli, but the big Frenchman’s header could only find the side netting to the relief of a fully outstretched Joe Willis.
United didn’t have much of a sniff to begin the game either, and indeed both sides failed to record a shot on target in the opening half.
At the 33-minute mark, Hassli brought down D.C.'s Marcelo Saragosa with a foul, which referee Kevin Stott was quick to penalize with a yellow card. Several D.C. players converged on Hassli and the match official, but cooler heads prevailed and the play – and the first half – proceeded without further incident.
It took 54 minutes for the ‘Caps to win their first corner. But again, it went without further threat.
Just shy of the hour mark, Vancouver defender Alain Rochat went down with what appeared to be a left ankle injury and had to be replaced by Jordan Harvey.
In the 67th minute, D.C. United came up with the game's best chance, as De Rosario won a corner kick that nearly led to the first goal of the night. Hamdi Salihi, who had sent a header high earlier in the match, this time headed the inswinging corner kick low, forcing 'Caps 'keeper Joe Cannon to make a reaction save. The ball popped up, but Chiumiento was there to clear the danger off the line.
Vancouver countered seconds later, with Camilo dribbling through a number of defenders before losing control at the final moment, allowing Willis to gather the ball.
D.C. took command of the final moments of the match and, in the 84th minute, De Rosario found himself with the ball in a good position after a pass from Emiliano Dudar following a turnover. Cannon, however, was there to thwart the advance and saved well to keep his goal unscathed.
The Whitecaps, who now sit on seven points in the Western Conference, travel to Philadelphia to face a struggling Union squad on March 31 (4 pm ET, MLS Live).
Meanwhile, D.C. United, who grabbed their first point of the season with the tie at Vancouver, will host FC Dallas on March 30 (7:30 pm ET, NBC Sports).
