A high five for making history
Whitecaps seize the day in return to MLS playoffs, routing their NorCal rivals
VANCOUVER 5, SAN JOSE 0
The day before, Carl Robinson gathered his MLS team together and impressed on them the table stakes for this one game.
True, the coach didn’t mention the 2017 Vancouver Whitecaps would forever be remembered as supreme choke artists had they lost to the San Jose Earthquakes in their single-elimination playoff game. Nor did he say his own reputation was on the line in the do-ordie match.
Instead, the Caps’ bench boss elected to focus on the more positive aspects of a victory while singing the praises of his troops, finishing his stirring oratory with these immortal words: “Let’s make history at home.”
Now, we can argue if one playoff win qualifies as history. But this much is certain. Following their 5-0 win over the Quakes, the Whitecaps have a chance to write a little more of whatever it is.
Wednesday night, Robinson’s squad recorded the first MLS playoff victory in franchise history, bouncing the Earthquakes 5-0 behind a four-goal blitz in the second half, some standout goalkeeping from Stefan Marinovic and a complete team game.
They now advance to the Western Conference semifinals where they meet their arch-nemesis, the Seattle Sounders, in a home-and-home total goal series which begins Sunday in Vancouver and concludes Thursday, Nov. 2 in Seattle.
It’s funny. For all the angst generated by their final two performances of the regular season — a loss on the road to Portland on Sunday and a draw with San Jose at home 10 days ago — the Whitecaps are now where everyone figured they’d be. The only wrinkle is they had to play one extra game to arrive at their destination but, who knows, that might be part of a memorable run for this team; a post-season which, you know, becomes history.
Against the sixth-place team from NorCal, the Whitecaps flexed some of their regular-season muscle after a tentative opening 25 minutes. Fredy Montero opened the scoring in the 33rd minute off a set piece, converting Kendall Waston’s header off Cristian Techera’s corner, giving the Whitecaps a lead they’d never relinquish.
Techera would provide some measure of insurance with the game’s defining moment in the 57th minute. After some pressure from the visitors early in the second half, Yordy Reyna won a free kick outside the box. The diminutive Uruguayan then unleashed a laser from 30 yards that curled into the net past San Jose keeper Andrew Tarbell.
Waston, who again enjoyed a monster game in the centre of the Whitecaps’ defence, added a third goal seven minutes later when he poked home a sitter off a mad scramble in front of Tarbell before Nicolas Mezquida added the fourth goal and fifth goals for the home team, completing the rout and sending the near sellout crowd of 21,083 home and happy.
As lopsided as the final score read, the Whitecaps weren’t always in control of this affair. Marinovic, who’s wrestled the net away from David Ousted, contributed a standout save off an Anibal Godoy strike in the game’s opening moments and made a standout stop off Chris Wondolowski early in the second half when the game was in the balance.
Still, as Robinson said before the match, the Whitecaps would go as far as their best players would take them and the team’s imperial guard stepped up on this night. Montero’s goal set the tone for the game. Techera’s supplied the critical marker. Waston’s goal punctuated a dominating performance. Marinovic turned in a clean sheet. Christian Bolanos played with calm and poise in the midfield.
In their seven-year MLS history, the Whitecaps had stood at a similar moment a couple of times and failed to seize the day with a singleminded determination. In 2012 and 2014 they were one and done. In 2015, they grabbed the second seed in the West but were ousted by Portland, failing to score a goal in the two-game series.
That wasn’t exactly a problem on Wednesday. Where they go from here is the next question, but it’s safe to say the Whitecaps have a little momentum and a little confidence working their way.
After seven years, you might say it’s about time. You just wonder if it’s history in the making.