Just when it looked like clear sailing for the Vancouver Whitecaps, they had the wind knocked out of their sails.
The Whitecaps gave up three second-half goals in about 17 minutes as visiting Minnesota United battled back from a 1-0 deficit for a 3-1 win in Major League Soccer on Friday.
Whitecaps striker Lucas Cavallini, a second-half substitute, gave Vancouver the lead in the 63rd minute.
“I think we played well until we scored the goal,” Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini said.
“After we scored, we didn’t press. We were dropping too much in our box and leaving them. We got punished.”
Minnesota defender Kemar Lawrence tied the match in the 71st minute when he took a looping pass from midfielder D. J. Taylor and drilled a shot past Whitecaps goalkeeper Cody Cropper.
It was the first goal the Whitecaps had allowed in 342 minutes of MLS play.
Striker Luis Amarilla then gave Minnesota the lead in the 84th minute with a hard shot from outside the top of the box.
Midfielder Franco Fragapane sent the crowd of 14,207 at B.C. Place Stadium to the exits with Minnesota’s third goal in the 88th minute.
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Fragapane chipped a shot over Cropper after two Whitecaps collided in front of the net.
Vancouver has made a habit of late comebacks. Since May 8, the team has scored five goals in the 89th minute or later in home games.
Four resulted in wins while the fifth salvaged a tie.
There were no last last-minute heroics against Minnesota, however.
“Tonight, we were not a 90-minute team,” said Cropper. “I think the big takeaway from this is we have to continue to play our game for 90 minutes because what we do is very effective when we do it.
“Tonight, we were a 60-minute team. It’s a learning opportunity for us as individuals and us as a collective team.”
The Whitecaps (7-9-3) saw their three-game unbeaten string (2-0-1) snapped. Minnesota United (8-8-3) won a third straight game.
“It was a big win for us,” said Minnesota coach Adrian Heath. “We know how well they have been playing. They are a difficult team to break down.
“Down a goal, we were thinking the worst, but our guys showed terrific character and didn’t give in. I thought we deserved the win. Maybe not 3-1, but we deserved the win.”
The win moved Minnesota into fifth in the Western Conference with 27 points.
Vancouver remained ninth in the West with 24 points, three points behind Nashville which holds the seventh and final playoff spot.
Cavallini put Vancouver ahead when he headed a pass from Pedro Vite past Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
It was the big striker’s team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The goal came just a few minutes after midfielder Ryan Gauld blasted a shot that went off St. Clair’s fingers and the post.
Whitecaps midfielder Andrew Cubas left the game with a sore groin at halftime, when Leonard Owusu subbed in for him.
“When you don’t have Cubas on the field, you miss his defensive ability,” said Cropper. “Him coming off the field changes the game.”
NOTES: The Whitecaps announced before the match that forward Deiber Caicedo underwent successful surgery Thursday for a meniscus tear in his right knee and has been placed on the season-ending injury list. Caicedo suffered the injury in the first half of Vancouver’s 0-0 home draw against the New England Revolution on June 26. … The last time the Whitecaps recorded a first-half goal was June 18 when Cavallini scored in the second minute of a 2-0 win over FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. … After a four-game homestand, the Whitecaps go on the road for games in Cincinnati on July 13 and Portland on July 17 before returning home on July 23 to host Chicago.
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