Vancouver Whitecaps 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

Jose Romero

Alphonso Davies and Nicolas Mezquida scored on each side of halftime, and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the San Jose Earthquakes for the second time in a week with Saturday's 2-1 win at BC Place.

The Whitecaps ran their unbeaten streak to six matches, and eliminated the Quakes from playoff contention. Vancouver's win combined with other results on Saturday to do in San Jose.

Yordy Reyna and birthday boy Kei Kamara set up Davies for his sixth goal of the season in the 22nd minute. Reyna almost had an assist to Cristian Techera in the 65th minute, but Andrew Tarbell came out for a difficult save.

Mezquida, a substitute in the 71st minute, scored on a strike from beyond the 18-yard box in the 78th. Vako's third goal in two matches made it 2-1 in second-half stoppage time, but the Whitecaps were able to hold on thanks to a late block from defender Kendall Waston.

Vancouver stayed within striking distance of the postseason, now on 40 points -- just one behind Portland for the West's sixth seed.

Goals

22' — VAN — Alphonso Davies | WATCH
78' — VAN — Nicolas Mezquida | WATCH
90+1' — SJ — Vako | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: The Whitecaps needed the three points to keep pace in the tightly-packed West playoff race, and while they didn't close out the game very well, coach Carl Robinson's insertion of Brett Levis and Aly Ghazal at defender worked out well. Vancouver have a lot of dangerous attackers, too, and they will need them with five games to play against teams in the West that would be in the postseason if the season ended on Sept. 1. For San Jose, there isn't much to look forward to after being eliminated from contention, but they could be spoilers in October.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH: There were a few, but the difference between three points and one for Vancouver came down to Waston giving up his body to turn back Jahmir Hyka's chance at the equalizer just before the final whistle.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Davies and Mezquida scored the goals, but if not for Yordy Reyna's runs, they would not have happened. Reyna had assists on both goals and gave the Earthquakes fits in marking him. Watch the buildup for the second goal here:

Nicolas "if you're not going to mark me I'm just going to shoot and score" Mezquida.

VAN 2-0 SJ | #VWFC pic.twitter.com/Owu8lndMAt
— Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) September 2, 2018

Next Up

VAN: Saturday, Sept. 15 vs. Seattle (10 pm ET | TSN2 — Full TV & streaming info)
SJ: Saturday, Sept. 15 vs. Sporting KC (10:15 pm ET | TV & streaming info)

Jose Romero

San Jose Earthquakes Vancouver Whitecaps FC