Ralph Priso netted the equalizing goal in stoppage time’s third minute, while Belal Halbouni scored the decisive goal in a penalty shootout to lead the Vancouver Whitecaps to victory over FC Dallas in an intense playoff match on Saturday night.
Following a 1-1 draw in regulation time, the Whitecaps secured a clean sweep of the best-of-three first-round series in the Major League Soccer Cup playoffs.
The team will now host the Western Conference semifinal at B.C. Place stadium on Nov. 22. Vancouver, positioned as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, is set to face either Los Angeles FC, seeded third, or Austin, ranked sixth, in the single-game conference semifinals.
In the game, FC Dallas forward Petar Musa scored his first career playoff goal in the 25th minute, giving his team a 1-0 lead. However, Ralph Priso’s late header, which was initially saved by rookie goalkeeper Michael Collodi, resulted in a 1-1 tie.
In the subsequent penalty shootout, Vancouver’s Halbouni converted the deciding penalty, leading to a victory after Dallas’ Nolan Norris missed his shot high.
The Whitecaps had previously displayed dominance in a 3-0 triumph in Game 1, where goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made two crucial saves.