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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver got an early goal from a red-hot Ryan Gauld and two own goals from Western Conference top seed LAFC, Yohei Takaoka posted his third clean sheet in five postseason starts, and the Whitecaps breezed to a 3-0 victory to even their best-of-three first-round series for the MLS Cup. Vancouver, the eighth seed in the West, jumped out to a 2-0 lead 13 minutes into the match and carried it into halftime on a goal by Gauld and an own goal by LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead. Gauld gave the Whitecaps the lead with an unassisted goal off a deflection in the 10th minute. Gauld has five goals this postseason after not scoring in his first three playoff appearances.
