Mathias Laborda, Tate Johnson help Whitecaps beat Montreal 2-0

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Tate Johnson (28) scores on an open net as CF Montreal’s Kwadwo Opoku (7) and Aleksandr Guboglo (39) watch during the second half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, right, stops a kick by Vancouver Whitecaps’ Pedro Vite (45) during the second half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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CF Montreal’s Prince Owusu, left, and Vancouver Whitecaps’ Ranko Veselinovic, right, vie for the during the second half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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CF Montreal’s Caden Clark jumps to head the ball against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the second half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Jean-Claude Ngando (26) and CF Montreal’s Nathan-Dylan Saliba (19) vie for the ball as Whitecaps’ Andres Cubas, right, watches during the second half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Mathias Laborda celebrates after his goal against CF Montreal during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Vancouver Whitecaps’ Ryan Gauld, right, leaves after an injury during the first half of an MLS soccer match against CF Montreal in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Mathias Laborda scored his first goal of the season in the 37th minute, 19-year-old Tate Johnson added a goal in his MLS debut and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat CF Montreal 2-0 on Saturday night.

Vancouver (3-0-0) is off the best start in club history. Yohei Takaoka had two saves for the Whitecaps and recorded his first shutout of the season.

Laborda, with his back to the net, kicked his leg waist-high in front of Montreal defender Brandan Craig to stop the ball in the middle of the area, quickly turned and won the loose ball — deflecting a clearance attempt by Joel Waterman — and then tapped in a finish from point-blank range to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead.

Johnson, whose dad Brian Johnson played five MLS seasons (1997-2001), scored his first MLS goal in the 49th to make it 2-0. On the counter-attack, Ali Ahmed played an arcing ball-in from the right side to the back post where Tate Johnson redirected it back inside the near post.

Jonathan Sirois had five saves for Montreal (0-3-0), which has been shutout in back-to-back games.

Vancouver captain Ryan Guald, who has scored double-digit goals in each of the last two seasons, went off due to a left-knee injury and was replaced in the 23rd minute by J.C. Ngando. Ngando made his second appearance this season and his 10th across two-plus seasons in MLS.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer