Vancouver Whitecaps' Mathias Laborda, left, knocks down a pass intended for Club Leon's Omar Fernandez with his foot during the first half of a Leagues Cup soccer match in Vancouver, on Friday, July 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps and Mexican side Club Leon played to a 2-2 draw on Friday night in Leagues Cup action at BC Place Stadium.
But in a quirk of Leagues Cup rules, the game then went to a shootout with the team that won gaining a point in addition to the one for the draw.
Leon’s Borja Sanchez scored the winning kick of the shootout after a stunning 19 rounds of attempts.
A game that initially appeared to be dominated by Club Leon – the defending Leagues Cup champions – turned into a feisty affair with both teams throwing caution to the wind when attacking.
Sergio Cordova scored twice for the Whitecaps, while Elias Hernandez responded with a rocket in the 77th minute to tie the match and send it to spot kicks.
The Leagues Cup features matches between clubs from Major League Soccer and Mexico’s Liga MX.
Ivan Moreno opened the scoring for Leon in the 23rd minute, capitalizing on a fluffed clearance by Andres Cubas.
Cordova responded in the dying minutes of the first half, taking a Sebastian Berhalter cutback and curling it from 20 yards out against Rodolfo Cota.
Cordova struck again in the 57th minute after receiving a through ball from Ryan Gauld and held off his man to slide it in.
The Whitecaps will next play MLS foe LA Galaxy on July 29 in group stage action of the Leagues Cup.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2023.
