Whitecaps thrash Earthquakes for 1st playoff win in club history

There were at no surprises at BC Place on Wednesday.

The Vancouver Whitecaps battered the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Fredy Montero, Cristian Techera, Kendall Waston, and Nicolas Mezquida scored north of the border to send the Canadian club to the Conference Semifinals and set up a Cascadian battle involving reigning champions the Seattle Sounders.

The Whitecaps' victory marked their first-ever win in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Montero, who tallied 13 goals and six assists during the regular season, opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. The Colombian striker headed the ball past Andrew Tarbell after Waston headed a corner kick by Techera across the penalty area, marking the Whitecaps' 14th set-piece goal of the season.

A phenomenal second half saw Techera, Waston, and Mezquida put the game out of reach. The latter took the pitch as a substitute before eventually scoring twice in less than three minutes.

Asked about facing the Sounders in the Conference Semifinals, Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson answered, "We know Seattle are the champs," according to Kelcey Brade of TSN. "I like knocking champs off their perches."