VANCOUVER - Midfielder Cristian Techera scored two goals to lead the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 3-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City in CONCACAF Champions League play Tuesday night.

Techera opened the scoring early, then put the game away in the 64th minute. Erik Hurtado also scored for the Whitecaps, who led 2-0 with the game just 12 minutes old.

The victory, before a crowd of 16,383 at BC Place Stadium, doesn't count in the Major League Soccer standings but could be a confidence boost to a Whitecaps team that is battling for their playoff life. Vancouver has lost four straight MLS matches and has just one win in its last nine games.

The Whitecaps currently sit eighth in the MLS Western Conference, two points out of the sixth and final playoff spot.

Techera put the Whitecaps on the board in the eighth minute after Hurtado lobbed a ball from the side of the net into the box. Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin jumped into the air and tried to punch the ball away, but Techera managed to head it into the net.

Hurtado scored just four minutes later. Midfielder Russell Teibert forwarded a long ball down the field over the Kansas City defence. Hurtado beat Kempin to the loose ball, then chipped it over him into the open net.

Techera made it 3-0 after midfielder Matias Laba sent him through with a pretty pass. Techera outraced a defender and put a low, hard shot past Kempin.

Techera scored the lone goal in the Whitecaps' 1-0 win over Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago earlier this month in their first Champions League match.

Vancouver (2-0-0) leads the Champions League Group C standings with six points. Sporting Kansas City (0-1-1) and Central FC (0-1-1) are tied with one point each.

The Whitecaps made nine changes to their starting lineup from the team that lost 2-0 to Kansas City Saturday night in a MLS match played at Children's Mercy Park. Defender Kendall Waston and midfielder Fraser Aird were the only starters from that game to start again Tuesday.

Sporting Kansas played an entirely starting different lineup.

The CONCACAF Champions League is a 24-team competition between the top clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Vancouver gained a berth in the tournament by winning last year's Amway Canadian Championship.

The teams play each other once at home and away. The group winner advances to the knockout stage, starting early next year.

The tournament winner qualifies for the annual FIFA Club World Cup, where they compete against the top teams from Asia, Africa, South America, Oceana, and Europe.

NOTES: Defender Brett Levis, one of the Vancouver starters, became the first player from the University of Saskatchewan to sign a MLS contract when he signed a multi-year deal with the Whitecaps Tuesday. … The two teams meet again in Champions League play Sept. 13 in Kansas City … Vancouver's next Champions League home game is Sept. 28 against Central FC.