SEATTLE (AP) — Rayan Elloumi and Thomas Müller scored second-half goals and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka wasn't tested as the Vancouver Whitecaps handed the Seattle Sounders a club-record seventh straight defeat in MLS play with a 2-0 victory on Sunday night.
The Whitecaps (11-3-4) move to the top of the Western Conference with the win, two points ahead of the Houston Dynamo.
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Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Jeevan Badwal is checked for a concussion as Seattle Sounders defender Nouhou Tolo, third from left, looks on during the first half of an MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Vancouver Whitecaps forward Thomas Müller, right, moves the ball against Seattle Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira (9) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders defender Jackson Ragen clears the ball from Vancouver Whitecaps forward Rayan Elloumi (19) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders forward Daniel Musovski (19) goes up for the ball against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Oliver Larraz, left, goes for the ball against Seattle Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Elloumi took a pass from Emmanuuel Sabbi in the 77th minute and scored his first goal of the season for the lead. Sabbi's assist was his second.
Müller used Ryan Gauld's nifty assist on a free kick inside the box five minutes later to score his sixth goal for the final margin. Gauld subbed into the match in the 58th minute before collecting his first assist in his fourth appearance of the season.
Takaoka did not have to make a save in earning his seventh clean sheet. It was his 34th career shutout in 117 starts.
Seattle keeper Andrew Thomas had the only save of the match on a shot by Müller in the 52nd minute.
Whitecaps midfielder Jeevan Badwal left with a concussion in the 18th minute and was replaced by Rayan Elloumi.
Seattle forward Jesús Ferreira left with a leg injury in the 36th minute and was replaced by Sebastian Gomez.
The Sounders (7-8-3) haven't won since beating the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 on the road May 13.
Vancouver has posted a 2-0-3 record in its last five trips to Seattle.
Whitecaps: Host Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
Sounders: Host Austin FC on Wednesday.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Jeevan Badwal is checked for a concussion as Seattle Sounders defender Nouhou Tolo, third from left, looks on during the first half of an MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Vancouver Whitecaps forward Thomas Müller, right, moves the ball against Seattle Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira (9) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders defender Jackson Ragen clears the ball from Vancouver Whitecaps forward Rayan Elloumi (19) during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Sounders forward Daniel Musovski (19) goes up for the ball against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Oliver Larraz, left, goes for the ball against Seattle Sounders forward Jesús Ferreira, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hayden Panettiere, star of popular television series including “Heroes” and “Nashville,” has died. She was 36.
Panettiere’s father, Skip, announced the actor’s death in a statement provided to ABC News on Sunday.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” his statement said.
No cause of death was announced, and a publicist for Hayden Panettiere did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
Panettiere, who would have turned 37 on Friday, began her career as a child actor in commercials and soap operas.
Her role as a cheerleader with superpowers in “Heroes” propelled her to fame in 2006, with the series revolving around the mantra “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
“I think ‘Heroes’ is really hot because it’s just a really great combination of everything that people love — they love reality, they love sci-fi and things like X-Men where they get to dream of something bigger,” Panettiere told The Associated Press in 2008. “And at the core of it are these human stories that people can relate to, very rugged. And it’s just grabbed everyone in every age group.”
She went on to win three Teen Choice Awards for that role and was a Grammy Award nominee for a children’s spoken word album recorded a few years after the release of the animated movie “A Bug’s Life.”
Panettiere later played a brash country upstart opposite Connie Britton on “Nashville,” which aired on ABC for four seasons before being canceled and revived on CMT. She did her own singing in the show, which scored some hits on country charts, spawned U.S. tours and earned Panettiere two supporting actress Golden Globe nominations. Panettiere had 11 songs recorded for “Nashville” appear on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs charts during the show’s run, including two featuring Britton.
Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen, who was also an actor, died of a heart condition in 2023, at age 28.
She had been open about her struggles with alcohol addiction and depression, including after the birth of her daughter with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.
In an interview with podcaster Jay Shetty after her memoir came out in May, Panettiere talked about the custody arrangement for her 11-year-old daughter, who lives full-time with Klitschko in Ukraine. News of the 2018 decision prompted headlines about Panettiere giving up custody of her daughter.
“I think there’s been this very common misconception that I just gave up my child,” she said. “That could not be farther from the truth.”
Panettiere said Klitschko suggested their daughter live with him full-time when the child was 2, as Panettiere struggled with mental health challenges and addiction. She said she was in a “horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse” while “just trying to find my way back, my way out of the darkness.”
She entered rehab in 2015, while filming “Nashville.”
“I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center. I was drowning,” she said in a 2023 interview with Women’s Health magazine.
On Shetty’s podcast, Panettiere recalled the explosion of her fame when she was cast on “Heroes,” including the first time she was tracked by the paparazzi. When she’d imagined the moment as a younger actress, she’d planned to look chic.
Instead, she said, “it was just sheer terror.”
Panettiere also appeared in two of the “Scream” movies, starred as the title character in the 2009 film “I Love You Beth Cooper” and played the young daughter of a football coach in “Remember the Titans.” She had spoken positively about her experience filming “Remember the Titans,” saying she felt so similar to the character she played — Sheryl Yoast, the opiniated, football-loving daughter of Will Patton’s Coach Bill Yoast.
FILE - Hayden Panettiere arrives at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Aug. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Hayden Panettiere participates in the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss the television series "Nashville" at AOL Studios on Jan. 5, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Hayden Panettiere arrives at the 21st annual Critics' Choice Awards at the Barker Hangar on Jan. 17, 2016, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Hayden Panettiere arrives at the premiere of "Blonde," on Sept. 13, 2022, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
