The feeling of defeat persists for Yohei Takaoka.

It’s been a year since the Japanese goalkeeper and his Vancouver Whitecaps were kicked out of the Major League Soccer playoffs by Los Angeles FC. The memory was still fresh as the club prepared to host its rivals again on Sunday in a do-or-die post-season battle.

“We never forgot last year. We lost to them here. We never forget. I never forget,” Takaoka said. “That’s why I want to show our performance as a team, as a player.”

The Whitecaps got their revenge on Sunday, beating LAFC 3-0 to tie this year’s best-of-three first round match at one game apiece.

Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 10th minute, then provided a cross that led to an own goal from LAFC’s Ryan Hollingshead four minutes later. An own goal from Eddie Segura sealed the score at 3-0 in the 68th minute.

Yohei Takaoka stopped three shots on target for Vancouver and Hugo Lloris of Los Angeles made one save.

“It’s the kind of performance and result we all felt we were capable of. So going out and doing it on the field was really good,” Gauld said.

LAFC won the first match 2-1 last Sunday. The third decisive fight will take place on Friday in Los Angeles.

The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the West and beat the Portland Timbers 5-0 in a wild-card match to earn their spot in the first round against No. 1 seed LAFC.

The winner of Friday’s game will face Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals after the Sounders swept the Houston Dynamo in two games earlier on Sunday.

A playoff date with regional rivals the Sounders would be a “fantastic” prize for winning the first round, Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini has said.

“The reward is huge, but we have to climb Everest,” he said. “We did the first part of the climbing today and we have to do the second part, the most difficult, on Friday.”

A series of strong passing plays put Vancouver in scoring position early Sunday.

Gauld sent Brian White to the back of the penalty area and the American striker sent him back moments later. Gauld took a shot and beat Lloris to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.

The Scottish midfielder has 17 goals in all competitions this season and leads the playoffs with five goals and one assist.

“It’s good to have those contributions at the top,” he said of that streak. “I think overall my bond and my overall game could be better. But at least I’m helping make the final product, which is kind of the most important thing.

Gauld struck again in the 14th minute, sending a ball into the box where it was redirected to the foot of LAFC’s Hollingshead to give the Caps a 2-0 advantage.

LA controlled 51.9 percent of the possession throughout the first half, but Vancouver outscored the visitors 9-3 and 2-0 on shots on target.

Takaoka was only challenged in the 51st minute when Mateusz Bogusz fired a right-footed attempt from the center of the area. The Japanese goalkeeper calmly collected the ball in the air to stop it.

He had to work harder in the 60th minute when Los Angeles star forward Denis Bouanga had a breakaway and sprinted toward the Vancouver net. Takaoka rose above the penalty area to contest and caught the shot in the left shoulder, sending it out of play.

“I could have expected it to be one-on-one at the time. So I stayed patient,” he said. “It was a bit of luck. But the decision was good and I’m happy to help the team.

LAFC pushed in the second half, outscoring the home team 14-4 over the course of the match.

Vancouver now has two clean sheets in three playoff games this season.

“I think we just worked on our shape to make sure we were a little harder to break down and not let teams play as easy,” Gauld said of the defensive change. “I thought we were pretty good tonight, really good in Portland… …It’s something we’ve been working on a lot on the practice fields.

The Caps added to their tally in the 68th minute when Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe threw the ball to Gauld, who charged forward and put it into the Los Angeles net on Segura’s foot.

“We said we thought we were lucky. And it was good that it happened tonight with a couple of own goals and a couple of breaks here and there,” Gauld said of the breaks his team got on Sunday. “So I hope luck doesn’t change. won’t run out until Friday.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 3, 2024.