Sporting KC sink plucky Whitecaps in shootout to march on

Sporting Kansas City punched their ticket to the quarterfinals of the MLS is Back Tournament with a shootout victory over the resilient Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday night.

After 90 minutes of goalless action, shot-stopper Tim Melia was the hero, turning aside a pair of spot-kicks to power his team to a 3-1 win on penalties. Teenager Gianluca Busio slotted home the decisive effort.

Peter Vermes' side will now play the Philadelphia Union in the quarterfinals on July 30.

There were numerous chances for Sporting KC to end the contest in normal time, but despite attempting 36 shots, they couldn't put one past 21-year-old goalkeeper Thomas Hasal. The young Canadian, who made eight saves in the match, has been a revelation for the Whitecaps since replacing the injured Maxime Crepeau earlier in the tournament.

The undermanned - and, frankly, overmatched - Whitecaps did well to push the affair to penalties. But then the game's other netminder stepped up to grab the spotlight.

No 'keeper in MLS has stopped more penalties - not including shootouts - since 2015 than Melia, and he lived up to that reputation in Orlando.

After Cristian Dajome hit the post with the first attempt of the shootout, Melia tamed efforts from Derek Cornelius and Yordy Reyna, setting the stage for Busio to settle the proceedings.

The Whitecaps' loss means all three Canadian clubs have now been eliminated from the tournament, with Montreal and Toronto FC also falling in the round of 16.