After disposing of two straight Western Conference opponents at home in Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas, the Impact will be looking to repeat that feat, this time against Canadian opponent Vancouver Whitecaps FC this Wednesday evening, 8pm, at Stade Saputo.
Climbing the standings
The Whitecaps FC are currently the second best team in the West, having earned 23 points in 14 games played (7-5-2) but have shown some signs of being a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde kind of team. They are tied for second spot in the entire league for number of games won, but are also tied for the worst loss record of all teams currently in a playoff spot. Head coach Carl Robinson said that his team has played a lot of good games, but couldn’t find a way to win over the last few weeks of MLS play with two straight shutout losses. However, his side got a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake last weekend.
Flash and dash
One thing is for sure, Vancouver is an exciting young team. Whether Designated Player Octavio Rivero is striking in goals (6G), or Pedro Morales is setting him up (2G, 4A), creativity is always at the forefront. Throw in the blazing speed of Kekuta Manneh or the ball-winning skills of Matias Laba, the Whitecaps FC are a thrilling side, with only Morales over the age of 23.
And the team has a tendency to score outstanding goals like this one by Gershon Koffie:
Keeping it tight on the road
The ‘Caps have a decent road record with three wins, two losses and one draw – identical to its home record – and have done so by playing stingy defence. The cross-Canada rivals won all three away matches by 1-0 score lines, fell 1-0 in both of its losses and played to a scoreless draw. If you do the math, that means only three goals scored and just two allowed in six games played away from B.C. Place, including four shutouts for goalkeeper David Ousted.
