Sporting Kansas City suffered a 2-0 setback to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday at BC Place. Cristian Techera fired the hosts ahead on 40 minutes before Tim Parker doubled the lead in the 67th minute to give Vancouver all three points and snap Sporting Kansas City’s five-game unbeaten run in the head-to-head series.
Despite the defeat, Sporting Kansas City (6-3-4, 22 points) remains atop the Western Conference standings, six points ahead of sixth-place Vancouver.
A retooled Sporting Kansas City lineup included four changes from Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC. Manager Peter Vermes notably awarded 23-year-old Canadian Tyler Pasher his MLS debut on the left side of a three-pronged attack that also featured Gerso — the hat-trick hero against Seattle — and Latif Blessing, who replaced the injured Dom Dwyer.