Milan Iloski got his first start for San Diego FC and made it one to remember. He scored four goals in a 5-3 road win over Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place, leading the team to one of its biggest victories in its debut MLS season. Until now, Iloski had been coming off the bench. This time, he left his stamp on the match and maybe the league.
The win put San Diego at 11 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws, reaching 36 points and climbing to the top of the Western Conference standings. Vancouver sits just behind with 35 points from 10 wins, 3 losses and 5 draws, and they still have a game in hand. The fight for first place is wide open, and both teams look set to stay in the mix.
Hat-trick in nine minutes shifts the momentum
By the end of the first half, San Diego was ahead 3-1. Iloski had all three. The opener came in the 35th minute, when he finished off a rebound in the box. Two minutes later, he spotted an opening, made a run and found the net again. Then, in the 44th minute, he got his head on a cross from Anders Dreyer and knocked in the third. Just nine minutes had passed, and the forward already had the first hat-trick in club history on his first start.
San Diego looked sharp from kickoff. Midfielder Alejandro Alvarado Jr. tested keeper Yohei Takaoka with a shot that forced an early save. Vancouver had a reply through Emmanuel Sabbi, who went down in the box under contact from Oscar Verhoeven. He wanted a penalty, but the ref said no. VAR backed up the decision. The game kept a fast pace, with both teams pushing forward and moving the ball quickly. Vancouver had control early, but San Diego took advantage of the space they found.
There was some noise around Iloski’s second goal. Vancouver players argued there was a foul on Ranko Veselinović just before the play. The ref let it go. Seconds later, San Diego had doubled the lead. Still, the Whitecaps didn’t fold. In the 43rd minute, Pedro Vite sent a cross into the area that deflected and fell to Édier Ocampo. The 21-year-old defender hit a clean shot into the top corner. It was his first goal in MLS, and it gave the crowd a reason to make some noise before the break.
San Diego adds more, Whitecaps respond late
Early in the second half, San Diego struck again. Dreyer found Iloski with a well-placed pass between two defenders. The forward took control and scored with his right foot. That made it four goals for him. With that, Iloski became just the 20th player in MLS history to score four in a game. He’s the third to do it this season, joining Brian White and Sam Surridge.
Vancouver kept pushing. In the 66th minute, Vite delivered a smart ball into the box, and Mathías Laborda sent it into the far corner. Earlier, Ríos had taken a shot that hit the post. The rebound landed with Sabbi, who tried to put it away, but Christopher McVey headed it clear off the line. The Whitecaps were chasing, but San Diego stayed solid.
In the 90th, Tomás Ángel added one more. He took advantage of a defensive slip, got past Takaoka and scored into an open net. Vancouver pulled one back in stoppage time through Antoine Coupland. In his MLS debut, the 21-year-old finished calmly after receiving a pass from Tate Johnson. That made it 5-3. Coupland, recently moved up from Whitecaps FC 2, showed good poise in his first minutes with the senior team.