Vancouver Whitecaps rally, beat LAFC in penalties to win conference semifinal

By Canadian Press on November 22, 2025.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps have earned their first-ever spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference final.

The ‘Caps and Los Angeles FC battled to a 2-2 draw on Saturday before Vancouver won the Western Conference semifinal 4-3 on penalties.

Emmanuel Sabbi opened the scoring in the 39th minute and defender Mattis Laborda doubled the lead in first-half injury time.

South Korean superstar Heung-min Son gave L.A. life with a goal in the 60th minute, then put away the equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time after Vancouver defender Tristan Blackmon was sent off with his second yellow card of the night.

Laborda then played hero in the penalty shootout, firing a shot past LAFC ‘keeper Hugo Lloris to seal the win.

It was the third-year in a row the two sides have met in the playoffs. L.A. ousted Vancouver the two previous seasons.

The ‘Caps will face the winner of Monday’s Western Conference semifinal matchup between San Diego FC and Minnesota United next week.

The Whitecaps finished the regular season sitting second in the Western Conference standings with a 18-7-9 record and beat FC Dallas in a first-round playoff series to advance.

LAFC went 17-8-9 to finish in third spot, then ousted Austin FC to set up Saturday’s battle.

Vancouver took control of the semifinal matchup early, dominating possession, poking holes in L.A.’s back line and testing ‘keeper Hugo Lloris in front of an announced crowd of 53,957 at B.C. Place.

The ‘Caps finally broke through in the 39th minute thanks to a goal kick from Yohei Takaoka. The netminder sent a long ball over the midfield to Emmanuel Sabbi at the top of the penalty area and the right midfielder got a touch on it to send it in behind Lloris to make it 1-0 with his ninth goal of the year.

The home side doubled its lead in first-half injury time.

Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter sent a corner kick soaring across the penalty area to Thomas Muller, who headed it on goal. Lloris stopped the shot, but couldn’t control the ball and it popped out to Laborda, who fired a quick shot in for Vancouver’s 100th goal of the season across all competitions.

Vancouver controlled 63.7 per cent possession across the first half and outshot the visitors 7-1, with a 5-0 advantage in on-target chances.

L.A. made a pair of halftime substitutions in a bid to spark offence, bringing on central midfielder Andrew Moran and teenage striker David Martinez.

The Black and Gold responded, and got their first on-target shot of the night in the 53rd minute when Denis Bouanga collected an errant pass and sprinted up the field on a breakaway.

The star winger got a shot off from the top of the penalty area, but Takaoka calmly dropped to make the stop.

LAFC continued pressing, and were rewarded for their persistence.

Son unleashed a right-footed shot from the centre of the box in the 60th minute and Takaoka reached up to make the stop. The ball dropped back at Son’s feet and he got another chance, only to be foiled by Laborda on the goal line. Son tried a third time and sent a shot bouncing in off ‘Caps defender Ralph Priso, cutting L.A.’s deficit to 2-1.

The play was reviewed for a possible offside but held up after a video review. The decision was greeted by loud boos from the Vancouver fans.

Vancouver came tantalizingly close to adding to its lead in the 78th minute off a free kick from above the penalty area.

Berhalter curled a ball into the back post and Blackmon stretched out his right foot just in time to send the ball soaring toward the open net. Lloris dove and made a seemingly impossible save.

The Whitecaps went down a man in the third minute of injury time when Blackmon was shown his second yellow card of the night for a foul on Bouanga.

Vancouver tried to shore up its defence, bringing on centre back Belal Halbouni for striker Rayan Elloumi, but couldn’t contain Son.

The prize forward lined up for a free kick just above the penalty area and sent a shot curling in between Takaoka’s outstretched hand and the post to level the score at 2-2 in the fifth minute of injury time.

L.A. took momentum into extra time. The visitors hemmed the ‘Caps into their own end and repeatedly tested Takaoka.

Vancouver took yet another blow midway through extra time when Halbouni suffered an apparent lower-body inury and had to be helped off the field by medical staff. Because the ‘Caps used all their substitutions in regulation time and with Blackmon sent off, they were forced to play out the game down two bodies.

The home side got some luck, with L.A. sending shots inches wide of the post and off the crossbar as time ticked down, sending the game to penalties.

By the time the whistle was blown, LAFC had outshot Vancouver 23-9 and were up 7-6 in on-target shots.