Kimito Nono had never scored in MLS before Saturday night at BC Place. He left with two goals and a point that Vancouver Whitecaps will feel they should never have let slip. The Whitecaps led 3-2 with ten minutes remaining, only for Nono to equalise in the 80th minute and complete a 3-3 draw that keeps DC United’s playoff hopes alive, according to AP News, which reported his brace as his first and second MLS strikes.
Key Moments
- 16′, Nono opens his MLS account, finishing from a pass by Ordaz to give DC United an early lead.
- 25′, White equalises for Vancouver, converting with no assist recorded to level at 1-1.
- 45′, Bruno Steven Caicedo Quinonez puts the Whitecaps ahead just before the break, assisted by Muller, making it 2-1 to the hosts at halftime.
- 65′, Bartlett, operating from a defender position, heads DC United level at 2-2, assisted by Kurokawa.
- 72′, Muller restores Vancouver’s lead, converting a cross from Cvetkovic to make it 3-2.
- 80′, Nono completes his brace, assisted by Hosei Kijima, to earn DC United a 3-3 draw they barely looked capable of forcing when Muller scored eight minutes earlier.
Tactical Breakdown
Vancouver dominated the ball throughout, finishing with 63 percent possession and 548 total passes compared to DC United’s 309. The Whitecaps generated 16 shots to DC’s 21, but their 9 on-target efforts produced three goals on what was a reasonably efficient night in front of goal. The hosts pressed high and moved the ball through the thirds with purpose, with Muller operating as a creative hub in a 4-2-3-1 that gave him license to drift and combine.
The turning point came after the 65th minute. DC United made a double change at halftime, withdrawing Hopkins and introducing Nikola Markovic, then replaced Peglow and Hefti at the 70-minute mark. Those adjustments gave the visitors more physicality in transition, and it was Hosei Kijima, playing until the 86th minute, who provided the assist for Nono’s leveller. Vancouver responded to Bartlett’s 65th-minute equaliser by bringing on Gauld for Sabbi at the 67-minute mark, and Muller’s goal seven minutes later suggested the plan had worked, only for DC to find an answer.
What cost Vancouver the win was the inability to protect a lead late. Sitting 3-2 up with ten minutes left, the Whitecaps allowed space behind their defensive line and Nono capitalised. Their goalkeeper Takaoka made four saves on the night, a reasonable workload, but DC United managed 17 shots from inside the box across the full 90 minutes, a volume that eventually told.
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Verdict
Vancouver remain top of the Western Conference on 50 points, but the draw leaves a gap of just three points between them and FC Dallas in second, who have played one more game. DC United, sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference on 30 points, pick up a point they did not look like getting for most of the second half, and Nono’s emergence as a goal threat gives the club something concrete to build on.