Cavallini net winner Whitecaps take dramatic 2-1 victory over Houston

It wasn't exactly what Vanni Sartini envisioned, but theVancouver Whitecapstook three points on Friday in dramatic fashion.

His 2-1 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo is exactly the result he needs the Caps to secure a playoff spot. is, said his coach, Head.

"If we win the playoffs, it's all because of this win," Sartini said. "It's a very important match because changing from 0 to 3 helps us stay on course."

Read More: Vancouver Whitecaps win Canadian championship on penalties

The 'Caps (8-10-6) COVID-19 outbreak cuts six players from major league baseball on Thursday Entered the game short-handed after being forced to participate in football health and safety protocols.

The club ended the night two points behind him in the Western Conference playoffs with 10 games left in the regular season. I'm done.

"There are many sacrifices for the team. This team is willing to go the extra mile, and we won't stop fighting until the last minute," said Lucas Cavallini.

"It shows the character and the great attitude of the players, and we have to keep that up."

Houston (7-13) in the 6th minute. The fans were still in their seats when -4) scored the first goal.

Vancouver blocked the visitor in the corner, but Sam Junka got to his second ball and penalized him with a shot from the top of the area. Fafapiko touched in front of the net and Whitecaps keeper Cody dribbled a shot past his cropper into the bottom right corner.

Retract them to your own ends for hard-won extended stretches—a problem exacerbated by frequent defensive failures.

Houston in the opening 45 minutes he dominated the ball 63.5 percent. They outscored his team at home 6-4 and he 2-1 in on-target chances.

Vancouver looked poised to equalize in his 43rd minute, but Julian his Gressel sent a sharp cross into the box and Tosain Ricketts slid towards the net. The Canadian's outstretched leg missed the ball and 'Caps made him 1-0 going into halftime.

Sartini added an attack to his line-up in the 56th minute, bringing in Cavallini for midfielder Pedrovite, and in the middle of the park Leonard he replaced Owusu and Michael his Valdismo.

Three minutes later, Ryan Gold slammed the ball into Cavallini's leg and the shot went wide of the post.

Play It was a player on his bench who wasn't ready to play.

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Midfielder Janio Bickel, Sebastian Berhalter and Alessandro Shop were among 18 people for "emotional support".

"Without a lot of players, they wouldn't have been able to play," said the coach.

Houston nearly doubled his lead in his 60th minute after Tol Leifer Wolferson cut through the Caps defense and unleashed an explosion from the middle of the box.

Cropper dived in and the first shot was outstretched, hit the post and rolled towards goal. He pounced on his loose ball just before it crossed the line.

'The keeper made his third stop in Vancouver on Friday. Houston's Steve Clark hit his target four times and he stopped two of his shots.

Whitecaps continue second half I kept pushing, but my frustration showed.

Cavallini was cautioned for a bad foul in his 78th minute, with Gold sliding to Picault a minute later. was shown a yellow card for tackling Cavallini will be suspended from next week's game due to accumulated yellow cards.

Simon his betcher came off the bench in his 82nd minute to make his MLS debut. The 23-year-old striker quickly got down to business and in the 88th minute he stabbed his right-footed shot into the net from the top of his 6-yard box.

Becher, who finished 16th overall with the Whitecaps in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, said, "It sounds like you're in the right place. 'That's the position you want to be in. To be honest, the ball is just right. It fell on me and it was kind of a reaction."

DF Ranko Veselinovic set up the game-winning strike in the 92nd minute when he put the ball to Cavallini's leg inside the penalty area.

"I was telling him to 'slide.' Slide. Slide." He literally brought me the ball," Cavallini said. "I knew I was alone, so I just wanted to turn around and hit the net to finish the game."

The Canadian striker led the Whitecaps in eighth goals of the season. I'm here.

He said it felt great to contribute to the decisive victory.

"Words cannot describe it," said Cavallini. "I'm relieved that all our sacrifices went into the final goal or a win like that, and I think it was well deserved."

, will face the Galaxy in LA.

Notes: White Caps striker Brian White missed Friday's game due to a ribcage strain … The Caps announced Wednesday that the 28-year-old Austrian shopped The deal was signed...an announced crowd of 14,668 attended the match.

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