Player Ratings: Gil impresses at top of the diamond, defensive pairing solid in win over Vancouver

Jeff Attinella - 8 Attinella had a couple of very nice saves, one of which should be up for MLS Save of The Week in my opinion. He got a well-deserved shutout and appeared much more comfortable and confident than in a few of the previous games in which he featured.

Brandon McDonald- 7 McDonald held his own against the Vancouver frontline. Having not played MLS minutes for a few weeks and facing off against the likes of Camilo and Mattocks, that is pretty impressive. Makes me more confident in the depth of our backline if Salcedo or Borchers go down to injury.

Chris Schuler - 7.5 McDonald was impressive for not having featured in a few weeks, but Schuler had not featured for months. That is even more impressive. He looked very calm and confident leading the defense for coming back from such a long-term injury. RSL just got that much deeper.

Abdoulie Mansally- 7.5 Mansally had one of the best games in his short time with RSL. He went neck and neck with more than a couple Whitecaps players and came out on top every time that I could see.

Lovel Palmer - 8.5 Palmer looked pretty well flawless over the course of 90 minutes minus getting juked by Camilo once. He was rewarded with an assist for his perfect pass to Sandoval which led to a critical goal early on. He was top notch on both sides of the ball.

Yordany Alvarez- 6.5 Alvarez had a pretty decent game. I thought his best work on the night was in his defending. His passes weren't as clean as they could have been at times, but he fulfilled his responsibilities capably on defense.

Sebastian Velasquez - 7 I think we have a blessing and a curse on our hands when someone with the skill that Velasquez has doesn't see very many minutes due to the depth chart. My only real complaint on Velasquez was he seemed to want a goal for himself a bit more than he wanted a goal for the team a couple times. He very well could have laid the ball of for his teammates a couple times but opted to shoot instead. I can't complain too much about a player being hungry for a goal though.

Luis Gil - 8.5 This is the kind of play from Gil that I have been waiting for. He didn't just play well, he repeatedly showed leadership in the offense, much like what we see from Morales when he is on the field. If Gil is to eventually step in at the top of the diamond for Javi, he is more than capable if he can do what he did against the Whitecaps on a consistent basis.

Cole Grossman - 6.5 You have to be impressed with a guy that hasn't seen many minutes but comes on and connects on passes as well as he did. Grossman, much like most the others on the field for RSL against Vancouver, makes me excited for our future. His only mistake was letting the ball through on a set piece that Palmer was luckily able to clear.

Olmes Garcia - 7 Garcia was giving Vancover's defense fits with his speed and athleticism all night. I really think that Garcia and Sandoval on the field at the same time is the kind of pairing that makes RSL dangerous, much like Saborio with Findley and/or Plata.

Devon Sandoval- 8 Sandoval is exceeding my expectations at this point. I knew he holds the ball up well and is good in the air, but he is scoring goals when the matter both in MLS play and in Open Cup play. The goal he got against the Whitecaps was all due to Sandoval's spin off and run into the area. Very nice play from Big Dev.

Substitutes

Joao Plata - 6 I have a lot of love for Plata, but he has to be better at finishing his chances. He had a great chance on goal and hit the post when one more goal would have put the game out of reach for Vancouver. Oh well, it kept things interesting.

Ned Grabavoy - 6.5 Grabavoy came on and brought calm and stability to RSL when the game was on the line. He gave RSL the added defensive presence they needed to close the game out.

Chris Wingert - 5 Not a bad game, just not enough time to show us very much.