This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Vancouver, British Columbia • Real Salt Lake will have to wait at least one more game to clinch a Major League Soccer playoff berth.

Pedro Morales scored two goals, including one on a penalty kick, as the Vancouver Whitecaps came back to beat RSL 2-1 on Saturday before a crowd of 19,935 at B.C. Place Stadium.

RSL (13-7-10) remained third in the Western Conference while the Whitecaps (9-8-13) moved into the fifth and final postseason berth in the West.

Morales played the role of spoiler after being stopped on the first of two penalty kicks that he attempted.

"We're really disappointed," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "It's tough enough to go on the road and try to get a result, but it's even tougher when you have two PK calls against you. It's just really disappointing."

RSL entered the game needing only a point to secure entry to the postseason party. Morales, a Chilean midfielder in his first season as a Vancouver designated player, scored the winning goal in the 78th minute as he deflected in a Steven Beitashour shot from about 20 yards out. The goal came after Morales had forged a 1-1 tie on his second penalty kick, in the 62nd minute.

Nat Borchers was the lone RSL scorer, heading home a corner kick in the 57th minute as all of the goals came in the second half.

The loss spoiled a fine effort from Attinella, who made his first start since June 28 as starter Nick Rimando and a number of other regulars stayed home to rest.

"We battled but were unfortunate not to get a result," Attinella said. "It's pretty tough when a shot that's going wide happens to go in off somebody's foot. The ball didn't bounce our way."

Morales made good on his second penalty-kick attempt with a low roller that was identical to the first one that Attinella stopped in first-half stoppage time — Vancouver's only shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

"(We had a) good scouting report," Attinella said. "I went the right way (the first time). He didn't hit it as well as he hit the second one — that's for sure."

On the second one, the RSL goalkeeper decided to go to his left while Morales went the same way he had gone earlier. On the first spot kick, Attinella guessed correctly and dove to his right to get his has on the ball in time.

"It was good to get the save, but it didn't really matter too much," said Attinella with a chuckle.

The initial penalty-kick was awarded after Vancouver central defender Kendall Waston was pushed down in the box during a Whitecaps corner kick. Attinella clapped his hands and yelled in triumph after making the save, and RSL came out strong in the second half as Borchers opened the scoring.

Morales received a chance to redeem his earlier miscue when RSL's Carlos Salcedo took down Vancouver striker Erik Hurtado in the penalty area. Salcedo received a yellow card for the infraction, which occurred while he was lying on the pitch and twisted his legs between Hurtado's.

With the win, the Whitecaps moved two points ahead of the Portland Timbers, who lost earlier in the day to Toronto FC. —

Storylines

O RSL misses a chance to clinch a playoff berth at B.C. Place Stadium on Saturday.

• Vancouver's Pedro Morales scores two goals, including one on a penalty kick, as the Whitecaps move back into playoff contention.

• RLS backup goalkeeper Jeff Attinella stands out in his first start game since late June, but he can only stop one of two penalty kicks. —

Vancouver 2,RSL 1

RSL 0 1 — 1

Vancouver 0 2 — 2

First half • No scoring

Second half • 1, Real Salt Lake, Borchers 1 (Morales), 57th minute. 2, Vancouver, Morales 9 (penalty kick), 62nd. 3, Vancouver, Morales 10 (Beitashour, Manneh), 78th.

Goalies • Real Salt Lake, Jeff Attinella Vancouver, David Ousted.

Yellow Cards • Beitashour, Vancouver, 36th Salcedo, Real Salt Lake, 60th Teibert, Vancouver, 63rd Morales, Vancouver, 79th.

Referee • Allen Chapman. Assistant Referees • Fabio Tovar. Marco Arruda. 4th Official • Daniel Radford.

Attendance ยป 19,395

Lineups

Real Salt Lake • Jeff Attinella, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Carlos Salcedo, Abdoulie Mansally, Luke Mulholland (Sebastian Velasquez, 82nd), Luis Gil (Ned Grabavoy, 69th), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Joao Plata, Alvaro Saborio (Sebastian Jaime, 69th).

Vancouver • David Ousted, Andy O'Brien, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey, Steven Beitashour, Sebastian Fernandez (Kekuta Manneh, 77th), Matias Laba, Russell Teibert, Mauro Rosales (Nicolas Mezquida, 64th), Erik Hurtado (Darren Mattocks, 68th), Pedro Morales.