In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Vancouver Whitecaps are cooking.
Fresh off a historic win on aggregate in Mexico, the Whitecaps brought their game to Texas and dominated FC Dallas in a 1-0 victory.
And speaking of records, that’s four wins in four to begin the MLS season, only the seventh team in the history of the league to do that.
Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen said the record “is something I’m very happy for, especially for the players, for everybody around the club, and especially for the fans.”
“I think it’s great to be part of such an exclusive group of teams,” he added. “When you’ve played three months more, it’s not something that you think about. But it’s right to have these moments. It’s nice to have these moments and also be a little bit proud as a group that we’re doing something that’s not usual.”
Without Ryan Gauld, Sørensen was forced into a few changes for his lineup.
Pedro Vite was pushed into the wide winder position normally occupied by the Whitecaps’ captain. J.C. Ngando took up the Ecuadorian’s position in the midfield alongside Sebastian Berhalter and Andrés Cubas.
Mathías Laborda switched to the left-back, giving the young Tate Jonhson a break. Édier Ocampo drew back into the right-back position as his one-match suspension was concluded.
Early stages of the match say the Whitecaps with a significant majority of possession. The visitors were finding space in all areas of the pitch, exploiting Dallas’s almost tentative movement.
That hesitation from Dallas extended to their front stars, Petar Musa and Luciano Acosta. Throughout the first half, both players were effectively held by the Whitecaps’ midfield.
Tristan Blackmon and Ranko Veselinović were also on the job to clean up anything that made it through.
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again; I want us to be a solid team, a strong defensive team because that will allow us to attack,” Sørensen said. “It’s not that we are standing way at the back on the pitch. We are also when we are standing higher up the pitch, we would like to be solid behind the ball. And I think that everybody is doing whatever they can to work hard defensively. It’s not just the back line. It’s also the midfield and the attack.”
Vancouver continued to dial up the pressure mainly through their repressure. At the half, they held 65 per cent possession, had more than double the passes of Dallas, and had the only shots (3) on net.
But there were also no goals to show for their efforts.
The Whitecaps kept up the pressure as the second half started. And though it took 55 minutes, their patience finally paid off.
A short corner played to Ngando allowed Vancouver to change the angle of delivery. Ngando’s cross went over everyone and found Blackmon at the far post.
The centre-back’s first goal since 2023 got past Maartin Paes to give the Whitecaps their well-deserved lead.
“It’s nice that we are strong and can do something on set pieces. We are one of the top teams in statistics for making corners in the league,” Sørensen said.
As fatigue crept into the players on the pitch, Sørensen looked to his bench, particularly in the midfield.
“I could see in the end that obviously, we looked a little bit tired,” Sørensen said. “But over the course of the game, I thought that we were the better team, and we were controlling most parts of the match.”
Blackmon’s goal was enough to seal the deal and make it 12 points out of the possible 12 so far in the season.
A much-needed break
This upcoming week will be the first without a mid-week match. The Whitecaps will fly back to Vancouver for a quick break, but training does not stop.
“We’re going to have a couple of days off, and then we’ll start the work again because, as I told the players, we have a perfect record, but we’re not a perfect team.”
Since Feb. 20, the Whitecaps have played eight competitive matches across all competitions. In this time, have a perfect 4W-0D-0L record in MLS and have advanced to the Quarter Finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
“Everyone is working their butts off and doing everything they can,” the head coach said. “And we are getting more confident. We are getting better each day. And that’s something I’m very happy to see.”
Up next
The Whitecaps are at BC Place for their next match on Saturday, March 22, when they face Chicago Fire.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
