The second-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps look to build on their best regular season in club history when they begin a Western Conference Round One playoff series against seventh-seeded FC Dallas on Sunday.
Vancouver earned a team-record 60 points in MLS while also winning the Canadian Championship and reaching the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
And the team added World Cup-winning experience with the summer signing of German veteran attacker Thomas Muller, who has scored seven goals in his seven league appearances.
But in last Saturday’s season finale, the Whitecaps were beaten 2-1 by Dallas at home while playing with 10 men for most of the night, when a win would’ve given the Canadians the West’s top seed.
Still, manager Jesper Sorensen’s side hasn’t lost while playing at even strength since a 3-0 loss at Colorado on July 12.
“We have confidence, and we should have,” Sorensen said of responding to the previous Dallas loss. “But it was also nice that we also saw that if we make mistakes, then it can be difficult against everybody. And they were good at taking advantage of some of the mistakes we made.”
Mathias Laborda will miss the opener of the best-of-three set for Vancouver due to the ensuing suspension from his red card offense. Team scoring leader Brian White (hamstring) is back in training after last playing Sept. 27, but the 16-goal-scorer’s status for Sunday is questionable, Sorensen said.
Meanwhile, Dallas will see the return of team scoring leader Petar Musa, versatile attacker Logan Farrington and defensive midfielder Ramiro from suspension.
“It only helps us,” said Dallas coach Eric Quill. “We’ve got three strong pieces coming back to our roster. And so, that depth really helps. And they’re different profiles than what (Vancouver) just saw.”
Musa scored 18 times for a side that lost only once in its last 10 games to surge into the playoff places. And Ramiro emerged as the captain for most of that stretch after the departure of ineffective playmaker Luciano Acosta in early August.
–Field Level Media
