Whitecaps ride Ryan Gauld, Yohei Takaoka, and two own goals to series-tying 3-0 victory over LAFC

By The Associated Press

Los Angeles FC's Maxime Chanot, left, and Vancouver Whitecaps' Brian White, right, vie for the ball during the first half of Game 2 in the first round of the MLS Cup soccer playoffs in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/DARRYL DYCK]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Vancouver got an early goal from a red-hot Ryan Gauld and two own goals from Western Conference top seed LAFC, Yohei Takaoka posted his third clean sheet in five postseason starts, and the Whitecaps breezed to a 3-0 victory to even their best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup. Vancouver, the eighth seed in the West, jumped out to a 2-0 lead 13 minutes into the match and carried it into halftime on a goal by Gauld and an own goal by LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead. Gauld gave the Whitecaps the lead with an unassisted goal off a deflection in the 10th minute. Gauld has five goals this postseason after not scoring in his first three playoff appearances.