Carl Robinson made three changes from the team that started Saturday's crucial win over Colorado. Gershon Koffie returned to the starting line up for the first time in weeks, to play alongside Matias Laba in the two man defensive shield, with Russell Teibert dropping to the bench. Erik Hurtado also returned after feeling ill on the morning of the Rapids match and seeing Darren Mattocks get the start.
The big change came in the defence, with Steven Beitashour's hamstring injury forcing Robinson to choose which young full back he wanted to go with, and Ethen Sampson got the nod on the right.
Vancouver started with their tails up and enjoyed some early possession but Dallas soon started to look the more dominant side in the middle of the park, with the Whitecaps not looking their usual cohesive selves and passes were going astray.
There was also very little offensive presence by either team. A lot of huffing but very little puffing, particularly from Vancouver, who were reduced to long range shots, some of which were giving Chris Seitz a seemingly problem to handle.
Just as it was looking like the teams would go in scoreless, which would certainly have been part of Vancouver's gameplan, Dallas took the lead in the 40th minute after a mix up between the usually reliable Andy O'Brien and Kendall Waston allowed Mauro Diaz to nip the ball past them and head towards goal on a two on one break. Diaz played the ball outside to Tesho Akindele, who took a touch before burying low past David Ousted for the opening goal.
A costly mistake that ended Vancouver's 432 minutes without conceding a goal and saw the hosts go in with a vital one goal advantage. The Whitecaps also had the added headache of having both Pedro Morales and Koffie pick up first half bookings and walking a tightrope in such a volatile atmosphere.
The pressure was now on Vancouver to perform and show their playoff metal.
The Whitecaps came out for the second half in a much higher tempo and Sebastian Fernandez won a free kick in the opening minute when he was barged to the ground by Walker Zimmerman. Mauro Rosales stepped up and crashed the free kick off the Dallas bar from nearly 30 yards out.
Vancouver were forced to replace their talismanic captain Pedro Morales just before the hour mark, and the switch for Kekuta Manneh proved to be a game changer.
The young Gambian immediately caused problems for the Dallas defence and his run into the box won a corner for the Caps just past the hour mark. Morales' kick was flicked on, leading to a mad scramble in the home side's box before the ball broke to Manneh and his low shot squirmed under Seitz and hit the post and out for another corner.
The Caps' were definitely in the ascendency now, and they got the reward their pressure and play deserved in the 64th minute.
Manneh was in the thick of things again when his shot from outside the box deflected into the path of Hurtado and the young striker make room and saw his own shot take a slight deflection as it beat Seitz and nestled into the bottom right corner of the net to tie things up.
Vancouver now sensed blood and Manneh was showing what a big game player he is, and he curled an effort inches wide in the 70th minute.
But just as it looked liked the Whitecaps had the game for the taking, Dallas won a penalty with eight minutes remaining when Kendall Waston was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, although the big Costa Rican knew little about it.
Michel stepped and the Brazilian sent Ousted the wrong way to give Dallas back the lead.
The game then threatened to boil over in the closing minutes as the hatred between the teams came to the fore.
The Whitecaps pushed hard for those final moments but without creating any clear cut chances and as Vancouver pushed forward, Fabian Castillo saw a late effort saved, although referee Geiger gave a goal kick.
Dallas held on for the win after six minutes of stoppage time and as the final whistle blew, Sebastian Fernandez made a beeline for Geiger and was shown a red card, as several Vancouver players gathered around the ref.
It was a tough way to end their season, but the Whitecaps can hold their heads up high after a season that saw them produce much more than many expected.
In the end, it was both their first half performance and the referee that saw their playoff hopes ended. How they bounce back from this next season will be interesting to watch. March can't come quick enough.
FINAL SCORE: FC Dallas 2 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
ATT:10,279
DALLAS: Chris Seitz; Zach Loyd, Matt Hedges, Walker Zimmerman, Je-Vaughn Watson; Fabian Castillo, Michel, Victor Ulloa (Kellyn Acosta 76), Mauro Diaz (Andres Escobar); Tesho Akindele, Blas Perez (Ryan Hollingshead 90) [subs Not Used: Jesse Gonzalez, Moises Hernandez, Jair Benitez, David Texeira]
VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Ethen Sampson, Andy O’Brien, Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Gershon Koffie (Nicolas Mezquida 87); Mauro Rosales, Pedro Morales (Kekuta Manneh 58), Sebastian Fernández; Erik Hurtado (Darren Mattocks 78) [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Sam Adekugbe, Johnny Leveron, Russell Teibert]
[Postgame reaction to follow Thursday]