Whitecaps head to L.A. in playoff position
Vancouver club's stretch run includes seven `home' games at Portland's Providence Park
It's been a year of firsts and precedents, opposites and opportunities lost.
Would anyone in 2019 have predicted the reality-warping idea of the Vancouver Whitecaps hosting the Seattle Sounders ... in a home game at Providence Park? That's one thing that lays ahead for the Caps, who host their Cascadia rivals in their other Cascadia rivals' home park at the end of October, one of 11 dates on the schedule of remaining regular-season games released on Tuesday.
First up, though: Wednesday's date with LAFC at the Banc of California in SoCal, in what has shaped up as yet another Bizzaro entry in 2020.
To wit: The Whitecaps (5-70) have five wins and occupy a playoff berth, having won three of their last four games.
On the other side of the centre line, the defending Supporters Shield champs (4-5-3) have just four wins, are below the playoff line, and have won just twice in their last eight games.
Vancouver has scored 10 of its 17 goals — second-fewest (L.A. Galaxy, 16) in the West — in its last four fixtures.
L.A. has four goals in the same span — all coming in a 4-2 victory over Portland — and been blanked by a 3-0 score line the other three games.
Wednesday night's game will mark the third time Caps coach Marc Dos Santos plays his former club and faces his mentor in LAFC's Bob Bradley. They've split their results, the Caps winning 1-0 at home to halt L.A.'s record start in 2019, and FC returning the favour with a 6-1 home win later that season.
“I know exactly the team we're going to face,” said Dos Santos. “Their soccer doesn't change. A lot of play inside, a lot of possession, a lot of creativity, a huge reaction to the loss of possession. That's all going to be there. I have a huge respect for what they're all about, the talent in their roster. In soccer, the only thing that matters is the 90 minutes in that day. Every thing before that … doesn't count.”
L.A.'s issues aren't stemming from a lack of scoring; their 25 goals trails only the
Seattle Sounders in MLS. Depth, especially on the defensive side, has been.
LAFC has a negative goal differential for the first time in its three-year existence — with the absence of centreback Walker Zimmerman (sold to Nashville FC), injuries to defenders Triston Blackmon, Mohamed Traore, Andy Najar, and midfielder Edward Atuesta playing a huge role.
Najar and Atuesta returned to the lineup last week against Seattle and saw limited minutes in a 3-0 loss that saw two penalty kicks given against a dysfunctional defence. Star forward Carlos Vela has also
been out with a knee injury.
“Facing adversity and having a real way as a group to play through it, that is the challenge for us,” Bradley said this week. “When you go through a tough stretch, it just seems like no matter what, things go against you.”
Adversity is also what awaits the Whitecaps, as they will relocate to Portland for the remainder of the season. Dos Santos described it thusly: “It's such a passionate people (in Portland). In a normal situation, Portland is one of the nicest cities, with the most energy, in the U.S. Right now, it looks like Gotham City. It looks grey, it looks abandoned, it looks sad. Hopefully things change.”
Players and staff have the option of returning to Vancouver for a few days following the Sept. 27 game against the Timbers, but must remain in strict quarantine, which includes a training ban. The Caps play four road games and seven “home” games.
For road games, including Wednesday's game, the team will fly out on game day. A 7:30 a.m. wake-up is followed by meals, buses, flights to the destination city and a few hours to rest at a hotel before playing the game. The Caps said they will fly back to Portland the same day for the majority of their road games.
“The strain before kickoff is already too high for me. I already know the way we're going to have to be mentally. To surpass all of that is going to be an incredible challenge,” said Dos Santos. “Should you play any games of a professional sport like that? No. But is it an opportunity to show how strong mentally you are? Yes.
“It's not a comfortable situation, but the year has been like that. We can't be surprised by anything. it's been an uncomfortable year, a year where if it's not COVID, it's the smoke, if it's not the smoke, it's the riots. It's just been an incredible 2020.
“It's 100 per cent a long road trip.”