Vancouver went with an unchanged starting line-up to the one that beat Seattle 1-0 last weekend, with Chivas pretty near full strength but missing their key defender Bobby Burling.
It was a hot and humid BC Place but it didn't stop both sides taking play from end to end in the opening minutes. The closest any team came to opening the scoring though was in the 19th minute when Erik Hurtado drilled a low rebound into the bottom right corner of the Chivas net, but the Caps' striker was offside when Kekuta Manneh's fierce shot was originally unleashed on keeper Dan Kennedy.
It was the Whitecaps who got the breakthrough in the 27th minute when Pedro Morales sent a perfect corner into the box and Mitchell made a move to get on the right side of Chivas defender Eriq Zavaleta and head a low one through the legs of Kennedy and into the back of the net.
There were a couple more half chances for the Caps as the half came to an end. The home defence seemed to be handling the dangerous Erick Torres and his Chivas teammates fairly comfortably and looked good for their half time lead.
The half time team talk seemed to work wonders for the Goats who got themselves back level two minutes into the second half after Agustin Pelletieri rose unchallenged to head home a Mauro Rosales corner.
The goal breathed new life into the visitors and Torres headed over from six yards out just past the hour mark.
The game turned in the 69th minute though when Jordan Harvey was given a straight red card for a two footed tackled on Oswaldo Minda.
Despite going the man down, Vancouver turned up the pressure and substitute Nigel Reo-Coker nearly restored the Whitecaps lead when he drilled a Hurtado cutback wide right in the 74th minute.
The Caps kept pressing and fellow sub Darren Mattocks forced a fine leg save out of Kennedy at his near post moments later.
Despite the man advantage, Mattocks' pace was leaving Chivas scrambling and he nearly rounded Kennedy in the 77th minute but the keeper was able to grab the ball off the Jamaican's foot.
Chivas took the lead with nine minutes remaining, when Marco Delgado took advantage of the makeshift left back role and sent a cross into the back post for Erick Torres to head home his fifth goal in five straight games.
As the game entered stoppage time, Pedro Morales thought he had salvaged a point for Vancouver when he bundled the ball over the line but Kennedy was adjudged to have had full control of the ball and a foul was awarded instead.
With the Whitecaps still pressing and keeper Ousted up for a corner, Chivas broke quickly with second remaining and Leandro Barrera rounded off a great night for the goats with a long range effort into an empty net.
FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - 3 Chivas USA
ATT: 19,383
VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey (Christian Dean 71); Matias Laba, Gershon Koffie (Nigel Reo-Coker 68), Sebastian Fernandez, Pedro Morales, Kekuta Manneh (Darren Mattocks 68); Erik Hurtado [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Christian Dean, Russell Teibert, Mehdi Ballouchy, Nicolas Mezquida]
CHIVAS: Dan Kennedy; Donald Toia, Carlos Bocanegra, Eriq Zavaleta, Tony Lochhead; Oswaldo Minda, Agustin Pelletieri (Nathan Sturgis 77), Eric Avila (Marco Delgado 46), Mauro Rosales; Erick Torres (Leandro Barrera 82), Marvin Chavez [subs Not Used: Trevor Spangenberg, Akira Kaji, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Ryan Finley]
Reaction:
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
CARL ROBINSON
On the disallowed goal by Pedro Morales:
"Was I given an explanation? No. What did I think of it? I was hoping it was a goal."
Thoughts on the game:
"I think you saw from the first 35-40 seconds there when Carlyle Mitchell picked up a yellow card with a tackle; I knew the way the game was going to go. What I can focus on, and what I want to focus on, is my team's performance today. We lost, which is bitterly disappointing because I don't think we deserved to lose. We were very comfortable in the first half going one goal ahead. We played the way I wanted us to play, without, probably, the lack of cutting edge in the final third. We did everything correctly, but then little finer details in the give and goes in around the box weren't there in the first half. Even in the second half, when we went down to 10 men, we adjusted it, and Nigel and Darren had just come on, and they both had very good chances. Disappointing kick in the teeth for me and for the guys in there because of the work they put in."
On subbing in Nigel Reo-Coker instead of Russell Teibert:
"Just to try and get a bit of physicality in there. I brought Koffie off, and I thought he did okay, but not to the levels that he has been used to. So, I wanted to try and get a bit of urgency and bit of drive from midfield."
Thoughts on Jordan Harvey's red card:
"I don't know. I spoke to Jordan, and he's apologized, whether he left his feet or not. If he left his feet, it's a red card. I think there was one in about the 90th minute that I thought was a similar challenge, but I don't have to make calls on decisions, whether they're controversial or not. Obviously, I support my player in whatever way if I think he hasn't done anything wrong. He got bumped and he went after the ball, so until I see it again, I can't really say."
On not getting the win at home:
"We've dropped three points tonight, and like I've said all along you've got to win at home, and try to pick up points on the road. So I just told them that we've got to win an extra away game now, which I'm confident we will because we're not bad on the road. We can catch teams on the break. It puts on a little more pressure, but we've just got to make up a game now. So, I'm disappointed, but we've got a busy week ahead."
CARLYLE MITCHELL
On getting his first MLS goal:
"It's a good feeling getting my first goal, but unfortunately we didn't get the result we expected. The other team beat us, but that's water under the bridge. We have to go back out and get a win. I had been getting close and I said, 'One day, it will go in.' It was a great cross by Pedro (Morales) and I was able to finish."
On conceding the first goal to Chivas USA
"Obviously, it was disappointing, but this is soccer. As a team, we just have to concentrate more."
On hurting his ankle late in the match:
"It wasn't that bad, I just rolled my ankle late in the game. It's okay now, but I just have to see the doctor tomorrow and start therapy on my ankle. By Wednesday, I should be fine."
DAVID OUSTED
On tonight's loss:
"I said before the game that we shouldn't take this team lightly. I don't think we did but we didn't get the result, so it's disappointing."
"I feel that we controlled it really well in the first half. I thought we didn't take them lightly and we pressed them, but second half things didn't go our way, but still we did well, trying to press them and trying to create chances. This just wasn't to be today."
On conceding the first goal to Chivas USA:
"We were talking about how switching off for just a second is costly and it was in this situation. We'll work on that and see if we can pick it up a little better."
On playing one man down after the Jordan Harvey red card:
"I thought we had some fantastic chances. I thought the guys did well to create them and I thought we should've scored. By not doing that, we get a goal against and go down 10 men. Then, it's uphill."
On the disallowed Morales goal late in the match:
"What I'm hearing is the Chivas goalkeeper had his hand to it, so that's one of those 50-50 situations and those haven't been going our way, especially not here at home. If it's a save, then good for the referee, he got that one right. Hopefully, one of those 50-50 situations will come our way."
On Erick Torres scoring again against them:
"It is [disappointing]. I thought we did really well in containing him. He spins off one time and makes a good header and scores the goal that killed us a little bit. I'm disappointed at conceding that kind of goal."
NIGEL REO-COKER
On missing a potential goal:
"It's football, these things happen. You have options – you can try and lace it and go through or guide it back into the corner and that's what I tried to do. I guided it back into the corner. On another day, it could've gone in. Obviously it didn't go in today and that's that. We still had some other chances but it's going to be a tough pill to swallow."
On losing a game where they played well:
"It's a tough game to lose. We've had meetings within the dressing room tonight. Sometimes you're going to play great and not get the result that you deserve. Today's one of those days. We've expected situations like this so the main thing for us is to keep our heads up and keep our focus. We got another two games to make things right."
CHIVAS USA
WILMER CABRERA
Thoughts on the game:
"It was a very tough game. They're a difficult team – quick with young players with a quick transition. They went ahead through set pieces, which is something we weren't doing very well, but it's part of the game. But, we didn't lose our composure. For the second half, we tried to adjust a few movements. We tried to move the ball a little bit wider, a little bit quicker, and we found the first goal to tie it on the set piece really quick. That helped us a lot. And then we tried moving some fresh legs with some guys. They came in very well. The subs came in very well, and helped the guys because no matter what, when you play three games in one week, you are carrying a little bit of heavy legs, but the guys did a good job."
Thoughts on having multiple goal scorers tonight:
"It is important for the players. If Torres is the only person that is going to score goals, that's okay, but Torres calls for attention, everyone is thinking about Torres and that opens the possibilities. Today, it was Agustin and Leandro. That was important for them and it was important for the team. It also shows that we're getting stronger and more confident little by little."
Thoughts on four-game winning streak:
"It feels good, but it's because of the players. The work they've been doing, the effort, they believe in what they've been doing and they're performing better every game. That's important for them. If, any moment we lose, because this league is very, very even and complicated, with that organization, that composure, that concentration, and the way they've been working, we're going to be okay. Right now, we're in a good mode, a good situation. We feel good because we feel strong and we're going to continue and see what happens next game against DC United."
On what he said to his squad at halftime:
"We were doing okay. The only thing was the set piece goal, but we shouldn't be losing our possibilities to play even. We needed to move the ball quicker, we have to take the ball out wide like we did in the first 15 minutes, and it worked. It worked well and we created some options."
ERICK TORRES
On scoring his 13th goal of the season:
"I feel extremely happy, especially because of the three points earned for the team. We got a really positive winning streak and I am happy because I keep on scoring, but I know I owe 80 per cent of my goals to my teammates Marco and Mauro Rosales, who delivered on the pitch."
On the robot dance celebration:
"It's a celebration that I have been doing since my time at the academy, so now I get the opportunity to do it at the MLS level."
Thoughts on their four consecutive victories:
"This is a positive winning streak for us and the team knew we had to earn it for us to move further and land a better spot prior to the playoffs. I believe we are now three or two points away from being in a playoff position. We have to continue working on improving and not letting our guard down, playing with a humble attitude and a positive mentality, and following the rules of the coaching staff and Wilmer Cabrera. With that, the results will come."
LEANDRO BARRERA
Thoughts on first goal in MLS:
"I feel great and happy more than anything else, because we won another match as the away team. These three points are useful to continue the growth within this team."
Thoughts on their fourth straight win:
"Great. To put it this way, our team has awoken, and hopefully we keep this positive winning streak that can lead us to great things in the future. Every game, we are getting stronger."
AGUSTIN PELLETIERI
On his first goal of the MLS:
"I feel extremely happy. Winning is always great and we are all cheerful."
Description of the goal:
"It was a great cross by Mauro and fortunately I was able to reach it and score for the team. We tried our hardest and it paid off."
On the victory for the team:
"It's our fourth straight victory. We are a team that is starting to build up as we have been almost half a year together. We feel the results are starting to come our way and now we feel our team has fortunately improved."
Difference between the first half of the game to the second:
"I believe this was a close match. The difference on the first half was that we couldn't get the ball into the net. Tying things up at halftime made things more even and later on we felt better about the game and more confident. At the same time, having an extra man on our side was beneficial as we started to take advantage of that and scored."