One of the best things about sports is upsets and the Vancouver Whitecaps have a chance to do that.
After winning Game Two with a statement 3-0 win over LAFC at BC Place, Vancouver has the chance to be David against Goliath on Friday with Game Three. In the MLS Cup Playoffs, strange things can happen because the MLS is a strange league.
It would be a monumental shock in MLS if the eighth seed defeats the number one seed in the Western Conference. The league already had one upset. The defending MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew, the second seed in the Eastern Conference, lost in two games to the New York Red Bulls.
The pressure is on LAFC. They need to deliver in front of their home crowd.
“We have nothing and no one to blame but ourselves,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo after the Game Two loss in Vancouver.
Whitecaps look to Move onto the second round.
The winner of the Vancouver and LAFC series will face the Seattle Sounders in round two. Seattle swept the Houston Dynamo in their first-round series, with both wins coming through the penalty shootout. The highlight of that series was Dynamo captain Hector Herrera spitting on the referee and subsequently getting sent off. On Wednesday, Tom Bogert of Give Me Sport and Soccerwise reported that the Dynamo have declined Herrera’s option.
The Whitecaps have been training over the past few days and will travel to Southern California on Thursday. Vancouver and LAFC have played each other so many times over the last couple of years so they must be sick of each other. However, LAFC has had the upper hand including sweeping the Whitecaps in Round One last season.
“It would be fantastic to go to the second round,” said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini after Wednesday’s training session to Har Johal of Daily Hive. “We don’t have anything against them. It became a rivalry because we played them a million times in the last two years. There’s a lot of other places to be a rival than LA. LA is a nice place.”
Once again, offence will be the key to this one, especially early. The Whitecaps failed to convert early in Game One, resulting in a 2-1 loss. In Game Two, the Whitecaps came out with all guns blazing. Ryan Gauld scored in the 10th minute and then forced two own goals.
“I think the same game plan, we get them to kick the ball in their own net,” said striker Brian White to Johal on Wednesday. “I think we’ll have a good chance of winning the game.”
“It’s an important game but we don’t have to go crazy about it,” said midfielder Andres Cubas to Johal. “We have to go at it with a lot of responsibilities and prepare ourselves in a similar fashion to how we did last game.”
Win or go home
The Whitecaps will look to stick to the game plan that helped them win Game Two. But LAFC will look to adapt. After all, Cherundolo is a coach who has been known for his ability to adapt. The likes of Denis Bouanga and Mateusz Bogusz will look to get firing again.
LAFC lost 3-0 once this season. That was to Real Salt Lake in a snowy game in Utah back on March 2. They then drew Sporting Kansas City 0-0 at home and then beat Minnesota United 2-0 and Nashville SC 5-0.
LAFC are a team that doesn’t stay down for long and Vancouver once again has to trap them so they can remain down until late February.
Game Three could be another chess match in this developing rivalry. It all goes down on Friday and kickoff is at 7:30 PM Pacific.
