VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Barry Robson scored on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute to give the Vancouver Whitecaps a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

Dane Richards also scored for the Whitecaps (9-6-7). Vancouver, 1-3-3 in its previous seven matches, broke a tie with Seattle for sole possession of third place in the Western Conference.

Alan Gordon scored for the West-leading Earthquakes (13-5-4), who were coming off back-to-back wins at home.

Joe Cannon stopped two shots in the win for Vancouver while Jon Busch made one save in the loss.

Richards put the Whitecaps ahead 1-0 in the 20th minute when Young-Pyo Lee fed him a great ball up the right wing. The Jamaican beat his man and fired a right-footed blast past Busch.

It was Richards’ first goal in Vancouver since coming over in a trade that sent Sebastien Le Toux to New York on July 13.

Gordon tied it in the 38th minute after he won a physical battle in front of the Whitecaps goal and headed home long ball from Marvin Chavez for his ninth goal.

Vancouver began to press after that. Richards had the best chance when his shot flew high and wide of the left post, just after Darren Mattocks narrowly missed a pass from Camilo that would have given him an open net to shoot at.

In the 61st minute, Robson’s initial shot deflected to Camilo but the Brazilian was tripped in the penalty area. Robson stepped up and put the ball in the top corner. It was the Scotland captain’s second goal in six games with the Whitecaps.

San Jose’s Justin Morrow seemed to have Cannon beat in the 80th minute after the goalie came out to challenge but Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit bailed out Cannon with a timely slide tackle.