VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
"We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect," he said.
"We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.鈥
The winner of Friday's game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The 'Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
"We鈥檝e shown to ourselves that we can compete with them," he said.
Now in his fifth season with the 'Caps, Veselinovic said Friday's game will be the biggest he's played for the team.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level," he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn't thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
鈥淢ore importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round," he said. "LAFC鈥檚 a very good team. We鈥檝e come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it鈥檇 be huge for us to get the better of them this time.鈥
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.'s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team's big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
鈥淚 think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game," he said. "Because I think they鈥檙e going to come at us a million miles per hour.鈥
The 'Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver's post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
鈥淜nowing it鈥檚 a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice," he said. "It鈥檚 when you see the best in players.鈥
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club鈥檚 appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e supposed to win and we are not," the coach said. "But it鈥檚 beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 6, 2024.
