West powers Whitecaps, Sounders settle for 0-0 draw

Yohei Takaoka made five saves as the Vancouver Whitecaps earned a rare point in Seattle, playing to a 0-0 draw Saturday night.

The Whitecaps (12-10-11, 47 points) remained in fifth place in the Western Conference. It was just the second time they've earned a positive result at Lumen Field since 2016, a span in which they're 0-8-2.

Seattle's Stefan Frei didn't have to make a save in posting his league-leading 13th shutout of the season, matching his career-high set in 2017.

The Sounders (13-9-11, 50 points) outshot Vancouver 17-4, but dropped into third place in the West and missed an opportunity to clinch a top-four seed and home-field advantage in the first full round of the playoffs.

Though the Whitecaps failed to put any of their shots on goal, Ryan Gauld struck the outside of the left post with a 12-yard attempt in the 62nd minute.

Takaoka made two sterling one-handed saves late, diving to make a stop at the left post on Cristian Roldan's header in the final minute of second-half stoppage time and knocking Albert Rusnak's 15-yard attempt wide in the 79th minute.

The lone shot on goal in the first half came in the 31st minute, following a Seattle free kick. Leo Chu got the ball just inside the top of the 18-yard box, and his right-footed shot was smothered by Takaoka as he dropped to his left side.

Takaoka made similar saves on Nicolas Lodeiro in the 49th and 57th minutes, dropping to his left to smother shots from just inside the top of the 18-yard box.

The Whitecaps had a couple of decent chances before the intermission, as Brian White put a header off a free kick wide left in the 27th minute and Gauld's left-footed attempt from outside the penalty area in the 43rd narrowly went past the right post.

--Field Level Media