Vowing to kick it up a notch
Whitecaps determined to build on pre- season successes
On paper, the Vancouver Whitecaps had a terrific pre- season this year.
They only dropped one game — on penalty kicks in Carolina — and collected four wins and four clean sheets on their way to winning the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Florida.
So what does that mean for the Major League Soccer season that begins Saturday afternoon when the Caps host the expansion Montreal Impact at BC Place? Not much.
“Pre- season was a good chance to show the type of talent we have, but now it’s about transferring all the energy we put into pre- season and make sure we get it right against Montreal,” Caps captain Jay Demerit said Tuesday after a training session in Burnaby. “All of that goes to waste if we don’t do that.”
Even if Vancouver wins big against the Impact, he insists players won’t let the performance go to their heads. They’re all well aware of the challenges that came after an inspiring opening- day 4- 2 win over Toronto FC last season.
“We can’t let the media spin it like we’re going to be the best team in the league,” Demerit said. “It’s important for us to stay grounded and learn from what happened last year.”
Veteran Caps goalie Joe Cannon said the club clearly aspires to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season, as the second- year team has a better idea of where it’s at right now, compared with a year ago.
“We have a new regime in here and guys have worked really hard over the pre- season, but let’s not fool ourselves, it’s just pre- season,” he said. “We need to start on the right foot [ against Montreal]. ... We have to wait and see and steadily build this thing. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Cannon expects the 2012 Whitecaps under new head coach Martin Rennie will be a stronger side psychologically than last year’s team, which tended to get down on itself when things didn’t go well.
“Our heads tended to go down and we looked for answers,” he said. “I think now we have [ the answers] and we’ll have the confidence.”
As expected, the club confirmed Tuesday the signing of 27- year- old Carolina Railhawks midfielder Floyd Franks to an MLS contract, making him the fifth former Carolina player to play for Rennie in Vancouver this year. Franks spent the past two seasons with Rennie in Carolina and also played for him with the Cleveland City Stars in 2008.
“He brings a lot of competitiveness and aggression and more depth to our squad,” Rennie said. “He can play as a defensive midfielder or a box- to- box midfielder or even as a defender.”
Franks made 16 appearances for the Chicago Fire in 2006 and 2007.
SIDE KICKS: The Whitecaps announced Tuesday the club has sold 13,000 season tickets so far, down more than 2,000 from this time last year.
But Caps president Bob Lenarduzzi noted the team led the league in singlegame ticket sales last season and expects that will grow this year, with better transit options to BC Place compared with Empire Field last year. The Caps had the third- highest average attendance in MLS last year, at about 20,400.
About 18,500 tickets have been sold for the season opener Saturday against Montreal at BC Place, leaving fewer than 2,500 remaining in the lowerbowl soccer configuration .