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The Whitecaps beat St. Louis City SC 4-3 on Saturday night, and a Brian White hat trick was the boost they needed.
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Published Jun 29, 2024 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 5 minute read
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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Levonte Johnson is stopped by St. Louis City goalkeeper Ben Lundt as Tomas Totland watches during MLS match in Vancouver June 29, 2024. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESS
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The King Kong sized monkey jumped off Brian White’s back, beat his chest a couple times, and tore up St. Louis City.
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The Vancouver Whitecaps striker scored his 37th, 38th and 39th regular-season goals for the club on Saturday, a one-man show — or is that one giant simian show? — that catapulted the Caps from a 2-0 hole past City to a 4-3 victory on Saturday night at B.C. Place.
There are now two names atop the Whitecaps’ MLS Mount Olympus: White and Camilo. The current striker had already become the MLS team’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions earlier this season, but tied the Brazilian for the most regular-season goals in team history. And we’re only at Game 19 of 34.
White hadn’t scored since April 27 when he potted one in a 1-1 tie against his former team, New York Red Bulls, a span of nine games. The slump was obliterated by his second career Caps hat trick.
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“I hope that is gonna give confidence to smile because we all love when Brian smiles,” said Caps coach Vanni Sartini. “The importance that he has for this team is astronomical, like I’ve said a million times.
“It’s not about the goals. It’s about the way that we play. It’s very tied to his quality of his performance and tonight he was very good.”
White has had slumps before, but rarely lets the frustration leak through. Never high, never low.
“There’s really only one option: just keep going,” he said of his dry spells.
“You keep fighting, you keep trying to improve on the training pitch, you keep trying to get into good positions, you keep trying to score. That’s the only way out of a bad slump.”
Here’s a look at his goals from Saturday:
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37th minute, 2-1 St. Louis
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Sebastian Berhalter pinged a long vertical ball from deep inside Whitecaps territory to White, who was bracketed by St. Louis defenders Jake Nerwinski and Anthony Markanich. The latter misplayed the ball, and he sidestepped — his Jersey Boys brother when they played together in Vancouver — and unleashed a shot from 17 yards that deflected off of Nerwinksi and past goalkeeper Ben Lundt.
It was a massive lift for the team — and for White.
“The monkey that he has on the shoulder went away,” said Sartini. “And when the monkey goes away, then you feel that free, that even lucky things happen to you. Because now you’re that positive and trying to go to score that goal.”
“The first goal went in and I think the game came a little bit easier for us.
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I felt a little bit more comfortable,” added White. “So yeah, it did feel like a little bit of a stress reliever.”
54th minute, 2-2
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A clearance by St. Louis was volleyed directly back into their own third by centreback Matias Laborda, putting White and Nerwinski into a footrace. The St. Louis defender won it, but his header to get the ball out of danger was misplayed by teammate Tomas Totland, sending it right behind White. A quick back heel later, and the ball had sailed over both White and Lundt’s head into the back of the net.
“I (joked) that we tried it in the training ground, so it was a scripted play,” Sartini laughed. “I think that the xG of that shot is like 0.01.”
“Yeah, definitely a bit of luck,” White said post-game, smiling.
“It’s like a ‘broken clock is right twice a day’ kind of thing. I was trying to bring the ball with me fortunately, hit off my head and went over him. We take what we can get, right?”
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61st minute, 3-2 Whitecaps
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Ryan Raposo had an excellent night on the right side of the formation, with no better example than the cross he whipped in from 25 yards to the edge of the six, where White rose above everyone to deflect in an archetypal White header.
“The third goal was a Brian White master class,” said Sartini. “The top of the top of the top.”
While his first goal’s celebration was muted, and the second followed by a Chicago Bulls security guard type shrug, the third was an elated group hug.
“(First) one you’re still losing; two, you’re tied; three, you’re winning the game, so it brings it up a little bit,” White grinned.
OF FRIENDS AND FOES
All three of White’s goals came with Nerwinski in close proximity, which is poetic since the St. Louis defender is still one of his closest friends despite having been let go by the Whitecaps after the 2022 season.
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White will have some fun texting him this week. Once the immediate pain of the loss is over, of course.
“It’s tough thing,” he said of the other half of the “Jersey Boys.
“Obviously we’re good friends and you want to see your friends do well, but at the end of the day, it’s a business. We’re both trying to compete and win, and fortunately it was us that came out on top this time.”
Nerwinski did have some bright spots in the game, including his goal-line clearance of a Bjorn Utvik header that was about to cross the line in the 52nd minute.
OF MAKING WHITECAPS HISTORY
White isn’t one to follow records, and wasn’t even sure which one he’d tied after the game. When it was cleared up, his response was his typically concise answer, all of three words: “That’s pretty cool.”
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The superlative striker tied Camilo for the team’s all-time regular-season goals record in the process, with 39.
OF THE REST OF THE STORY
Fafa Picault added an insurance marker in the 90th minute for Vancouver (8-7-4). Nokkvi Thorisson’s 94th minute goal made it nervy at the end, but St. Louis (3-7-10) finished the night the only MLS team without an away win in 2024 (0-4-5).
The Whitecaps have rallied from two goals down to win just three times in team history. A 4-3 win over New England at home on June 16, 2013; and 3-2 on the road against San Jose (Aug. 25, 2018) and Portland (Sept. 20, 2021).
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/mls/vancouver-whitecaps/brian-white-ties-whitecaps-record-comeback-win-st-louis