By Canadian Press

Ian Pilcher’s late goal helps San Diego tie Whitecaps 1-1, remain atop Western Conference

Jul 19, 2025 | 11:11 PM

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ian Pilcher scored his first Major League Soccer goal for San Diego FC in a 1-1 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference.

San Diego (13-7-4) leads the conference with 43 points and the Whitecaps have 42. Minnesota United is third with 41 points.

Pilcher, a 22-year-old rookie defender, made it 1-1 in the 80th minute. Anders Dreyer’s corner kick was cleared by Vancouver before Luca Bombino misplayed a shot from the edge of the area that rolled to Pilcher for a first-touch finish from near the penalty spot.

Yohei Takaoka had five saves for Vancouver (12-5-6).

The Whitecaps took a 1-0 lead on a own goal in the 40th minute. Édier Ocampo, on the counterattack, had his shot from the edge of the area parried by diving goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega before Manu Duah’s clearance attempt went into the net.

Police involved shooting

SIRT; teen had pointed gun at police before shooting that killed him

6h ago

No Animal Plan

Northern Transitional Dog Rescue steps up for evacuee animals; calls for more support amid wildfires

23h ago

Manslaughter sentence

Seven-year prison sentence in Yellow Quill First Nation manslaughter case

Aug 13, 2025

Sisniega stopped three shots for San Diego.

San Diego had 59 per cent possession and outshot the Whitecaps 17-9, 6-3 on target.

Expansion San Diego beat the Whitecaps 5-3 on the road in the first-ever meeting between the clubs on June 25.

UP NEXT

Whitecaps: Host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, July 26.

San Diego: Host Nashville SC on Friday, July 25.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press