Welcome back: Whitecaps return home after 539 days
LOS ANGELES FC AT VANCOUVER, 7 P.M.
VANCOUVER — When Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos referred to his group as “road warriors,” he wasn’t exaggerating.
The club hasn’t played a game at home since March 2020. COVID-19 border closures forced the club to finish out last season living in a hotel in downtown Portland. They started this year’s campaign in Sandy, Utah, sharing facilities with Real Salt Lake.
Players and staff can finally unpack their bags, though — the Whitecaps are coming home.
The club will host Los Angeles FC at B.C. Place tonight, marking the first time in 539 days it will play in front of fans in Vancouver.
The wait has been so long that the club’s newest star hasn’t even set foot in the stadium. Days after signing with the Whitecaps last month, attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld and his teammates set out on another road trip.
“Everyone’s been desperate to get home for a long, long time,” Gauld said. “We’ve got a lot of home games coming up so we’ll be looking to turn those home games into some points.”
Several others, including homegrown midfielder Michael Baldisimo, played at B.C. Place last fall when the Whitecaps faced their Canadian MLS counterparts in a trio of closed-door home games, but have yet to experience playing in front of fans.
“I told them there’s nothing like having your fans behind you, screaming, cheering you on, giving the other team a bit of trouble,” said veteran Whitecaps defender Jake Nerwinski. “It’s everything. It’s an extra guy on the field. It’s something really special to play and get wins in B.C. Place.”
The Whitecaps (4-7-8) return to Vancouver on a seven-game undefeated streak after beating expansion side Austin FC 2-1 on Wednesday.
A win today would see the Whitecaps tie LAFC (6-8-5) with 23 points and the club would vault up the Western Conference standings to right below the playoff bar.
“We wanted to get to that point before coming home for our home games that we were close or above the playoff line. And I think we did that,” Nerwinski said after win over Austin.
“It’s really difficult to play so many games on the road, not in front of our fans. And to be honest, we got results away and that’s really hard to do in this league.”
It hasn’t been an easy season for the Whitecaps. Dos Santos has repeatedly spoken about the emotional toll living away from home has taken on the group.
The club lost five outings in a row between the middle of May and the end of June. Several matches have been played without star striker Lucas Cavallini and stalwart keeper Maxime Crepeau as they put in time with the Canadian national team.
Cavallini suffered a knee injury shortly after his return to club duty and isn’t expected back until late September.