The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before 鈥� literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the 鈥楥aps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn鈥檛 be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer鈥檚 Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the 鈥楥aps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淚t feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we鈥檝e managed to always find solutions for those situations,鈥� said the Serbian centre back. 鈥淏ut I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.鈥�
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There鈥檚 just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
鈥淭he work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they鈥檙e going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,鈥� he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
鈥淚 think already we turned the corner,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we start from there to build and build and build.鈥�
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it鈥檚 a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver鈥檚 captain Ryan Gauld.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e going through adversity, that鈥檚 when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,鈥� said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
鈥淎nd we鈥檝e had a tough time the last few games, but everyone鈥檚 aware of the fact that we鈥檙e a much better team than we鈥檝e shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we鈥檙e good at.鈥�
The 鈥楥aps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league鈥檚 top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
鈥淭hey must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.鈥�
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
鈥淓veryone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don鈥檛 have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we鈥檙e play one of our rivals. So it鈥檚 gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.鈥�
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and 鈥楥aps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The 鈥楥aps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play 鈥� better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
