Caps Crumble in Costa Rica Calamity

It’s all over in San Juan, and the Whitecaps have had a rude awakening to the 2025 season. The ‘Caps succumbed to a 2-1 loss on Thursday night, with Saprissa pulling off a smash-and-grab type win. Vancouver dominated the first half, opening the scoring through the magical feet of Ryan Gauld.

The Whitecaps dominated possession in the 1st 45, and although Saprissa had more shots, it was the Canadians who put the pressure on quick. Nevertheless, wasted opportunities came back to bite the ‘Caps, as a quick goal after the reset gave Saprissa a jolt of confidence, and the game became a lot closer. Even still, Vancouver was slightly outclassing the Costa Ricans with two big chances compared to 1, missing both.

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The Whitecaps’ valiant efforts ended up all for nothing in the end as the Caps would switch off defensively for a split second, giving Saprissa a last second winner through Ariel Rodriguez; the second half substitute.

PLAYER RATINGS

Yohei Takaoka - 5.5

The Japanese international between the sticks was iffy throughout the match. His distribution was honestly horrible, and didn’t make many saves. Nevertheless, he managed to recover most opportunities, and I can’t blame him too much for the loss.

Sam Adekugbe - 6.0

Sam was a mixed bag. On the one hand, he was winning most of his duels both on the ground and in the air, and although he brought attacking firepower, his passing was sloppy at best. 45 out of 90 accurate passes doesn’t show quality for a wingback.

Ranko Veselinovic - 7.5

Ranko had a solid performance, holding up the fort well enough. Ranko was making good effect with his passes, keeping a 90% accurate passing percentage, and made several bold defensive and offensive moves to help push forward the team. Ranko won all his ground duels, and 2 out of 3 aerial duels. Not bad for a 6’4 giant.

Tristan Blackmon - 6.0

Blackmon was a bit unfortunate tonight, especially in the air. Although he made daring passes in the final third, most of those passes were sluggish. Not to mention he only won 2 out of 9 aerial duels. Blackmon made some great recoveries and clearances, and although wasn’t as good as some of the other defenders, held his own somewhat.

Mathias Laborda - 7.0

Although only winning 2 out 9 ground/aerial duels, Mathias still made great plays, multiple recovers and clearances, and even almost scored. The Uruguayan had a solid performance.

Jean Claude Ngando - 8.0

Ngando impressed me heavily. Coming off a loan spell from a USL team in Vegas, Ngando was called back to seemingly play more of a depth role at the club, but he made his first start count. Ngando was rapid tonight, playing great through balls, dribbling past the opposition multiple times, and occasionally recovering lost balls. Ngando had a stellar performance and we may see a comeback from him this season.

Andres Cubas - 7.5

Cubas once again showing why he is the second most important player for the club currently. Andres survived wave after wave of attacks, courageously conquering his opponents, even if it meant giving away a cheeky foul. Andres was mostly pin-point with his passing, and kept the anchor at bay tonight.

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Sebastian Berhalter - 6.0

Sebastian had an off game in San Juan. The usually dynamite midfielder was rather quiet tonight, messing up set piece after set piece. Although Berhter had some relative attacking success, it wasn’t enough for his standards.

Ali Ahmed - 7.5

Ali was sharp and swift. Getting the clinical assist for our away goal, Ali played with fire in his heart. Saprissa were clearly frustrated with him tonight, as he was the most fouled player throughout the match. Ali darted constantly in the box, and really should’ve tucked away a golden chance in the 35th minute.

Brian White - 4.5

Brian has had a rough spell in his last few games for the club. Throughout the playoff series against LAFC last season, Brian missed multiple clinical chances. That seemed to creep into his performance tonight, as he was as dull as an unsharpened pencil. White barely caused a ripple in the water, having the least touches of any outfield player. When given promising opportunities, Brian would make a mess out of the few chances he had. The American will need to sharpen up, as he is slipping.

Ryan Gauld - 8.0

Where would this team be without the Gauldfather? Who else but Ryan Gauld to open the scoring for the season, and what a goal too. Firs time shot on his weak foot rolling under the keepers grasp, delicious. Ryan was hitting accurate pass after pass, giving Saprissa a hard time containing him. On the defensive side, Gauld had four recoveries and put in quite a shift for our 2025 introduction.

That’s all folks, Vancouver will look forward to their first game of the MLS regular season, the big one; Portland away on Sunday. See you then!

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