By Canadian Press

Whitecaps’ Takaoka, Sounders’ Frei duel to scoreless draw

Oct 8, 2023 | 12:06 AM

SEATTLE (AP) — Yohei Takaoka finished with five saves for Vancouver to offset Stefan Frei’s league-leading 13th clean sheet of the season as the Whitecaps played the Seattle Sounders to a scoreless draw on Saturday night.

Frei did not face a shot on goal in posting his shutout for the Sounders (13-9-11), who would have clinched a top-four seed in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference with a victory. Seattle extends its unbeaten streak at home to eight, going 3-0-5 in the run.

The Sounders are 8-0-2 in their last 10 home matches with Vancouver (12-10-11) in all competitions, outscoring the Whitecaps 24-4.

The Whitecaps are fifth overall in the 14-team Western Conference with 47 points, one less than fourth-place Houston Dynamo and three less than third-place Seattle. The Caps are one point ahead of sixth-place Real Salt Lake and four points ahead of seventh-place Portland Timbers.

The Whitecaps entered play with 54 goals this season, tying the club’s single-season high set in 2018. Brian White had a four-match goal-scoring streak end. Ryan Gauld scored in four straight matches in June. Only one Whitecaps player accomplished the feat from 2015-2022.