Christian Ramirez’s brace lifts Austin FC to 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps

VANCOUVER — As head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Jesper Sorensen is generally calm and collected.

A chippy 2-1 loss to Austin FC on Sunday tested his Zen demeanour.

The Danish manager picked up a yellow card late in the game, apparently for arguing a call from the touchline.

“You have the emotions going and there are some things that don’t play out your way and you would like to see if you could control maybe more than you actually can,” he said.

“And that’s obviously sometimes a little bit frustrating when things are not going according to what you hope for. And that’s normal. … You have to of course see if you can stay somewhat calm no matter what to see if you can help the team, right?”

The Whitecaps (14-5-4) outshot Austin (7-10-8) by a margin of 19-4, with Vancouver registering six on-target shots. Christian Ramirez scored on Austin’s only two on-target attempts.

A series of questionable calls by referee Victor Rivas late in the matchup appeared to boost exasperation throughout BC Place.

“It was a frustrating game,” said striker Brian White. “I think we gave them two chances, they scored two goals.

“I think we had good opportunities to score, maybe weren’t able to capitalize them as we would want. … It’s hard to really analyze it after just walking off the field. But, yeah, it’s definitely a frustrating result.”

White nearly gave the ‘Caps an early lead in the sixth minute on Sunday with a shot from near the penalty spot, only to see keeper Brad Stuver dive to make the stop.

Vancouver maintained pressure but got caught in transition off a corner kick in the 28th minute when Facundo Torres raced up the field and chipped a ball in to Ramirez. The striker hammered a right-footed shot into the bottom of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead on Austin’s first shot of the game.

“I’m so unhappy with that first goal,” Sorensen said. “It just puts us in a horrible position. There’s nothing there. We can just run back after a corner kick, and they are three and we are seven. And they score out of that.”

The game grew increasingly physical with players from both sides getting bodied to the turf.

An aggressive play resulted in a penalty kick in the 39th minute when Besard Sabovic pulled ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld down inside the area.

The Scottish midfielder stepped up to take the kick and sent his shot glancing off the crossbar.

While Vancouver controlled 57.7 per cent of possession and outshot the visiting side 5-1 across the first half, Austin held a 1-0 lead heading into the locker rooms.

The Whitecaps levelled the score at 1-1 shortly after returning to the field.

White beat his defender to a ball from Gauld, drove into Austin territory and sent a low, rolling shot in past Stuver for his 15th goal in MLS play this season.

Gauld nearly doubled Vancouver’s total a minute later off a give-and-go with White at the top of the penalty area, but his shot pinged off the crossbar.

Austin sucked much of the energy out of the announced crowd of 23,855 in the 60th minute when Ramirez collected a ball from Rosales and blasted a shot into the top of the Vancouver net. His second goal of the night put the home side behind 2-1.

Fans vocally opposed Rivas’ calls through the final 20 minutes of the game, calling “Ref you suck!” when Sorensen was shown a yellow for apparently arguing a call.

They repeated the chants minutes later when Austin was awarded a free kick from just above the penalty area following Emmanuel Sabbi’s foul on Mikkel Desler. Brandon Vázquez’s 83rd-minute attempt went over the Vancouver net.

The boo birds erupted once again in the 85th minute when Ramirez sat on ‘Caps midfielder Jevan Badwal and Badwal was called for the foul.

Sorensen and White both declined to offer their thoughts on the officiating after the game.

“(Austin) were good at taking time off the clock when the ball was not in play and it was difficult to create a rhythm when the ball was not in play. So that was obviously something,” the coach said. “But I don’t want to go into that. I’m looking at what we do as a team and that’s what’s more important to me.”

The crowd cheered Rivas in the 90th minute when Guilherme Biro was sent off with his second yellow of the night after he flattened Vancouver midfielder Rayan Elloumi.

The ‘Caps came up with a series of solid opportunities in stoppage time, including from newcomer Yadaly Diaby who sent a shot just over the crossbar with less than two minutes to go.

The fans’ love didn’t go unnoticed amid the frustration, White said.

“Obviously, they were real loud and really pushing us forward,” he said. “So it was great to have that kind of support.”

The Whitecaps remain atop of Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings despite the result, while Austin sits one point below the playoff bar.

Vancouver was without star midfielder Thomas Muller, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Sunday, but was held out of the game with a thigh injury he picked up in the team’s 3-0 victory over the L.A. Galaxy on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Austin: Visits FC Dallas in MLS action on Saturday.

Whitecaps: Face CF Montreal in Quebec on Wednesday for the back half of a two-legged Canadian Championship semifinal series. The two sides battled to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press