A mouse briefly stopped play at BC Place before Brian White scored four goals in Vancouver Whitecaps’ 5-1 win over Austin FC.
Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver carried the animal off the pitch early in the match. White then produced the first four-goal performance by a Whitecaps player in MLS.
Stuver removes an unexpected visitor
Play paused when the mouse ran onto the field. Stuver collected it carefully in his gloves near midfield, jogged to the touchline and handed it to officials.
The goalkeeper later saved a Daniel Rios penalty, but he could do little to stop Vancouver’s attack.
White tears through Austin’s defence
White opened the scoring in the 13th minute after Rios flicked on Edier Ocampo’s cross. He added his second before half-time from Emmanuel Sabbi’s pass.
Sabbi made it 3-0 shortly after the restart. White completed his hat-trick from a rebound in the 59th minute, then ran onto Ali Ahmed’s pass to score his fourth in the 83rd. Dani Pereira replied late for Austin.
Vancouver stay top of the West
White moved to six league goals for the season and 64 for Vancouver, one short of Carl Valentine on the club’s all-time list.
“I was just fortunate enough to put myself in good positions,” White told MLSsoccer.com.
The win kept the Whitecaps top of the Western Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings. The mouse provided the night’s strangest moment, but White made sure the football belonged to him.
