SEATTLE 0 VANCOUVER 0
The Vancouver Whitecaps stretched their winless streak to seven games with a 0-0 draw against the Seattle Sounders Saturday.
The Whitecaps (10-12-9) did gain a valuable point in their fight to hold on to the fifth and final playoff spot in the West, pending the result of a game between sixth-place Dallas and San Jose later Saturday.
The Sounder (13-7-10), meanwhile, clinched a Major League Soccer playoff berth and can finish no worse than their current fourth-place standing in the Western Conference.
Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning recorded his sixth shutout of the season - but only after Camilo missed a chance from close range in the game's dying seconds.
Gspurning preserved the draw as he stopped Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit in stoppage time.
Vancouver counterpart Brad Knighton picked up his first clean sheet of the season. His most important save came in the 88th minute as he dropped to block second-half substitute Steve Zakuani's shot from about 20 yards out.
But the Whitecaps' point came at a heavy price as they lost top scorer Darren Mattocks to injury in the first half.
Mattocks and Kenny Miller started at striker for the Whitecaps after coach Martin Rennie said a day earlier he did not think they would start together. Rennie also made a notable change on the back line, inserting Andy O'Brien at central defender in place of Martin Bonjour.
The Sounders controlled most of the early play.
Osvaldo Alonso fired just wide of the net in the 12th minute, and the Sounders almost scored off a quick counter-attack following a Vancouver corner-kick three minutes later.
Knighton was forced to stop Fred Montero from about 30 yards out on 28 minutes.
Vancouver lost midfielder John Thorrington to an injury in the 17th minute. He was replaced by Matt Watson, who has played sparingly most of the season.
The Whitecaps suffered another blow in the 38th minute as Mattocks left the game with a leg injury after going down in Seattle's 18yard box. The 22-year-old Jamaican was replaced by Camilo.
