Whitecaps, Sounders set for second leg

Tim Parker remembers feeling pretty good after the Vancouver Whitecaps secured a scoreless road draw with the Portland Timbers in the first game of their Western Conference semifinal in 2015.

With the Whitecaps hosting the second leg, Parker was confident.

“We thought we were going to be able to come back and take care of business,” the defender recalled. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

The Timbers scored a priceless away goal in the first half at B.C. Place Stadium, meaning the Whitecaps all of a sudden needed to find the back of the net twice to advance. It was a gut punch Vancouver never recovered from in what eventually turned into a season-ending 2-0 loss.

The Whitecaps are hoping the script reads the same way in 2017 — only this time in their favour — when they visit the Seattle Sounders in today’s second leg of the conference semi following Sunday’s uneventful 0-0 tie in Vancouver.

“We have to look forward to being the underdog down there in Seattle and hopefully ruining the story for them,” Parker said.

A Vancouver win or a draw with scoring would see the Whitecaps advance to Major League Soccer’s West final against either Portland or the Houston Dynamo. A Sounders victory would see them move on, while another 0-0 result means extra time and the possibility of a penalty shootout.