There is a team currently riding a four game unbeaten streak and, yet, there is no mention of them while talking about teams currently in their respective conference races. This team, you may ask, are the Vancouver Whitecaps and they are the 2013 Cascadia Cup winners and this week, they face the mighty Seattle Sounders FC.
The Whitecaps currently sit fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 4-2-4 and sixteen points, which is nine points behind Seattle, who sits in first within the conference. Vancouver is coming off back to back victories against San Jose and Columbus and has become a unit that is growing more confident as the weeks go by. As they enter this weekend’s match, the Whitecaps are coming off a bye week in which they were able to rest and gather themselves as they prepare for back to back Cascadia matches.
Vancouver is a “complete” team when it comes to the play on the field. The offense centers on Pedro Morales who has three goals on twenty-seven shots this season. Morales does have help up front with Kekuta Manneh, who has three goals himself. The Whitecaps are very unselfish when it comes to controlling the ball. Crisp passes and well thought out set pieces seem to be the norm when it comes to Whitecaps soccer.
In net, they have David Ousted, who has played every minute of every game this season and has shown that he can control the defense and has a keen eye when it comes to outlet passes and expanding the offense on counter-attacks.
While the team seems to be running on all cylinders, they are without right-back Steven Beitashour, who is currently training with Iran’s World Cup team, and, they are unsure if Darren Mattocks will be able to play this weekend because of a left hamstring strain. Mattocks is currently the team leader with three assists this season. Replacing Beitashour in the line-up will be Nigel Re-Coker who has been impressing Coach Carl Robinson in training this past week.
The pressure of defending the Cascadia Cup does not seem to weigh heavily on the minds of the Whitecap players as they approached this week’s training with calm and ease. Coach Carl Robinson was pleased that the team has been enjoying the training and putting their energy on practicing and playmaking instead of the upcoming match with the best team in Major League Soccer. The one player who is cool and collected is Manneh, who last year, had a coming out party against Seattle by scoring three goals in a Whitecaps victory. The focus will now most likely be on Manneh as Seattle will be wary of him leading the offensive attack and shift to a defensive trap.
Vancouver may not have the star-studded line-up that Seattle has, but, with the game on Saturday, the Whitecaps will have home field advantage and the support of their fans. This game is not just for results in the MLS Standings, but, it is the start of the Cascadia Derby, which also includes the Portland Timbers, and these games have that much more meaning to the Whitecaps as they proceed further into the season.
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