Vancouver Whitecaps defeat Austin FC in battle of two of West's worst

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:05 am

Brian White's goal with 16 minutes to play helped the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps to a 2-1 victory over hapless Austin FC on Wednesday in a matchup between the bottom two teams in the Western Conference.

The win snapped a streak of five consecutive draws for the Whitecaps (4-7-8, 20 points) and extended Vancouver's unbeaten run to seven matches.

Austin scored first when Alexander Ring jumped to direct a headed shot past Vancouver goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau to the far post in the 37th minute. Ring's header came after a crossing pass off a corner kick from Sebastian Driussi and was the first goal scored by Austin off a corner kick in the club's inaugural season.

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Vancouver tied the game in the 52nd minute on a goal by Jake Nerwinski, also off a corner kick. Ryan Gauld's crossing pass from the corner was headed toward the goal by Brian White but was stopped by Austin keeper Brad Stuver. The rebound bounced right to the feet of Nerwinski, who made short work of his opportunity from close range.

The Whitecaps jumped in front in the 74th minute on White's gorgeous goal in the run of play. The scoring play began when Deiber Caicedo carried the ball deep into the Austin end before passing to Gauld. Gauld steadied the ball and drew Stuver off his line before crossing to White at the far post for the easiest of conversions.

Jon Gallagher had an excellent chance to tie the game for Austin in the 86th minute, but his header after a crossing pass from Nick Lima floated over the crossbar.

Austin (4-11-4, 16 points) has dropped three straight matches and is 1-6-0 over its past seven outings. Despite its tally in the first half on Wednesday, the expansion team has the fewest goals in MLS (14) and is tied with Toronto for the most losses in the league.