Photo: Wikimedia Commons (see file page for photographer), via Wikimedia Commons.
Brian White scored his 100th MLS goal as the Vancouver Whitecaps beat San Diego 4-1 on Wednesday night to strengthen their hold on first place in the Western Conference, according to the Associated Press.
White headed in a curling pass by Oliver Larraz in the 41st minute for his 18th MLS goal this season, according to the AP report. White, 30, became the 17th player in MLS history to score 100 goals, and has 98 goals across all competitions since joining the Whitecaps in 2021, according to the same report.
Aleksa Cvetković, in just his fourth start since joining the Whitecaps in August, opened the scoring in the 24th minute on a redirection of Mathias Laborda's pass across the goal. Ryan Gauld scored on a diving header in the 66th for Vancouver's 67th goal of the season — the most the club has scored during an MLS regular season — according to the AP. Bruno Caicedo beat goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega in the 76th on a two-on-one breakaway for a 4-0 lead, before Onni Valakari pulled one back for San Diego in the 83rd with a header.
MLSsoccer.com's match report adds that summer signing Thomas Müller was introduced in the second half, marking his return from injury after almost a month out, and that Caicedo, 21, was named 15th on the league's 22 Under 22 list last week. Vancouver (17-8-7) extended its lead in the Western Conference to four points over second-place Dallas, which lost to Columbus earlier, according to the AP. San Diego (8-13-11) was eliminated from playoff contention, with its winless streak stretched to 10 games.
With their four goals on Wednesday, the Whitecaps smashed their club record for goals in a season, reaching 67 with two games to spare, according to MLSsoccer.com. A year on from reaching the MLS Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup finals, Vancouver is looking to take a step further in 2026 — and a record-breaking night at BC Place, crowned by White's 100th goal, is the kind of statement that suggests they mean it.