ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brian White scored two goals to continue his hot streak and the surging Vancouver Whitecaps beat St. Louis City 4-1 Saturday night.
White has scored in four consecutive games, beginning with a hat trick in 4-3 win over St. Louis on June 29.
Vancouver (10-7-5) is unbeaten, with three wins, in that span. The 28-year-old, who also scored in four straight games in April, became the first player in club history to accomplish the feat twice in a single season.
St. Louis (4-9-10) has one win since a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on May 11.
Attendance was announced as 22,500 on Saturday night.
White put away a feed from Fafà Picault to give the Whitecaps the lead for good just before halftime. Picault's header was parried by goalkeeper Roman Bürki but he headed his own rebound to White for the finish from point blank range to make it 2-1 in the 44th minute.
White opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Ryan Gauld stole a pass near midfield and raced toward goal before tapping a pass to White for a one-touch finish from near the penalty spot.
Tomas Totland played an arcing entry from the right side to Nökkvi Thórisson, whose volley was blocked but blasted a putback that slipped between the legs of goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka to make it 1-1 in the 27th.
Bürki finished with four saves.
Ryan Raposo added a goal in the 63rd minute and Picault capped the scoring in the second minute of stoppage time. Gauld chipped in with two assists for the visitors.
Vancouver had possession for 54 per cent of the game and shots were even at 14 per team. Both teams had five corners and 10 fouls.
"Today we actually played really well. The win was never in discussion even when it was 1-1 (in the first half). We were clearly the better team on the field," said Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini. "We were calm and collected defending no matter what they tried to do.
" … Our mindset right now is to try and win every game. We have to continue to push."
With 21 points on the road (6W-4L-3D), the Whitecaps have now surpassed their point-total on the road from last season (18 points, 4W-7L-6D). The 'Caps are only three points back of their best point-total on the road in a season, set in 2015 (24 points, 7W-7L-3D)
The Whitecaps are back in action on Wednesday as they square off against Sporting Kansas City in the club's '80s Match at B.C. Place. Following that match, the 'Caps are back at B.C. Place on Saturday, July 20, against the Houston Dynamo.
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The Associated Press
