It may have been the most unusual 1-1 draw I've ever seen, but when the smoke cleared, the Vancouver Whitecaps came away with a point against New England. That's not all that bad, considering <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1475-Whitecaps-Revolution-Preview-More-adversity-for-Vancouver">the injury and international limitations</a> the Whitecaps faced heading into this one and that they were reduced to nine men for over half an hour, but it's not as good as it could have been, considering that they were at home, they dominated much of the play and they led 1-0 until the final moments of the game. Still, on the whole, picking up a point in a game like this is hardly a bad outcome.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Marc Weber <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ProvinceWeber/status/55792543610306560">predicted</a> this one was likely to see a lot of cards thanks to the rather infamous history of referee Baldomero Toledo (who had handed out 42 red cards in 108 games coming into this one), and that prediction was vindicated right from the start. Toledo began handing out bookings almost as soon as the game started, dealing out a yellow card to Atiba Harris in the sixth minute and adding one to New England's Ryan Cochrane in the 14th minute. Camilo then went in the book in the 25th minute and the Revolution's Zack Schilawski followed 15 minutes later. The Whitecaps' midfield took a hit in the 38th minute, when Terry Dunfield was substituted thanks to injury, and it took a worse one shortly thereafter; Gershon Koffie picked up a straight red card in the 44th minute, leaving Vancouver short a man and without either of their starting midfielders.
Unlike in the Philadelphia game, though, the Whitecaps didn't collapse with 10 men. They maintained the majority of the possession and continued to attack. Eric Hassli came on at the half, and he got involved right away; unfortunately for Vancouver, though, only part of that involvement was positive. Hassli was booked in the 49th minute on a rather suspect call, but he made up for that in the 56th by converting a penalty and putting Vancouver into the lead. Hassli immediately undid much of the good he'd accomplished, though, rather brainlessly whipping off his shirt in celebration and earning a second yellow card (and a sending-off) in the process.
That left the Whitecaps with nine men, and that was certainly ominous with more than half an hour left. However, they continued to play well despite the odds and created several more promising scoring opportunities. New England started to press as time went on, but Jay Nolly made some excellent saves and Alain Rochat was particularly effective in defence. The stakes seemed to be evened somewhat in the 74th minute when A.J. Soares was sent off, making it 10-on-9, and it looked like Vancouver might hang on for the win.
Things changed yet again in stoppage time, though. The Whitecaps were getting tired, and the Revolution were creating more and more chances. Shortly after an apparent equalizer was called back thanks to an offside, a defensive breakdown left Ilija Stolica alone in the box, and he drilled the ball past Nolly to tie the match. That gave New England a point on the day and left Vancouver with one instead of three, but on balance, they can't be too unhappy with that considering the circumstances. The Whitecaps turned in one heck of a showing for a squad dealing with severe adversity thanks to injuries, internationals and refereeing. Even though the final result wasn't as good as it could have been, they still came away with a point; perhaps even more importantly, they again proved that they're a squad willing to battle against the odds. It's still quite early in the MLS season, and Vancouver's record so far is only 1-1-2, but there's a lot for Whitecaps' fans to like from what we've seen so far.