Whitecaps battle to scoreless draw with Revolution

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps had their chances but couldn’t beat goaltender Djordje Petrovic and were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw with the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer play Sunday afternoon at B.C. Place Stadium.

A win would have moved the Whitecaps (6-8-3) into a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Instead Vancouver climbs over Houston into eighth place in the West with 22 points. The Whitecaps are 5-2-2 in their last eight MLS games and 4-1-3 at B.C. Place Stadium.

The draw extended New England’s MLS unbeaten streak to nine games (4-0-5). The Revolution (6-5-6) are tied with Orlando for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 25 points.

In the game’s dying minutes the Whitecaps buzzed like angry bees around the Revolution net. Striker Lucas Cavallini slammed his hand into the net after missing on a chance from the side of the goal.

The first half was like a boxing match with the teams circling each other, throwing punches but not landing any real blows.

New England challenged in the 19th minute when striker Dylan Borrero sent a kick into the box that Vancouver goalkeeper Cody Cropper grabbed just in front of a charging Revolution player. In the 24th minute Whitecap striker Cristian Dajome was shown a yellow card for taking down Wilfrid Kaptoum at the top of the box.

On the following free kick, midfielder Carles Gil struck a left-footed ball that sailed just over the top of the Vancouver net.

Gil had another great chance in the 32nd minute. He corralled a loose ball in front of the Whitecaps net but midfielder Marcus Godinho managed to block the shot.

Vancouver had its best scoring chance just a few minutes later when Dajome fired a shot through traffic that Petrovic stopped with a