The Vancouver Whitecaps want to continue their run of stellar play when they travel to clash with suddenly dangerous FC Dallas on Wednesday in a Western Conference match in Frisco, Texas.
Wednesday’s match is the third of an eight-game road trip for the Whitecaps that will continue through MLS’ World Cup break and extend through July. Vancouver played six straight home games (and won five of them) before heading out on the road to facilitate the installation of natural turf at BC Place for the World Cup.
Vancouver (8-1-2, 26 points) is in second place in the West and on a six-match undefeated streak (4-0-2) that’s included road draws in their past two games. The Whitecaps drew with league-leading San Jose 1-1 on Saturday, with Sebastian Berhalter scoring the tying goal for Vancouver in the 76th minute to keep its points streak alive.
Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen said his staff utilizes the team’s time on the road to work with players away from the field.
“If we want to show something, we have a lot of time around the training sessions,” Sorensen explained. “Players don’t have to go home or anything. We can call them in for small meetings and show them stuff and videos. Yes, there is a lot of travel, but there’s also time in the schedule to relax a little bit.
“Points are always important, but it’s also important how we play,” Sorensen added. “We have played and approached the games as if they were home games — hopefully we can take a couple of victories before the break.”
The Toros (5-3-4, 19 points) have found their collective footing while producing back-to-back wins, most recently a 3-1 victory at home over Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The winning streak followed a four-game winless stretch (0-2-2) for FC Dallas.
Santiago Moreno and Kaick scored goals midway through the first half and Samuel Sarver added a stirring tally in stoppage time to help FC Dallas earn consecutive wins for just the second time this season and pull even on points with Real Salt Lake for sixth in the Western Conference.
“We stayed organized, defended together and handled their pressure well,” FC Dallas coach Eric Quill said of his team’s play against RSL. “I thought our guys did a beautiful job with the details defensively and staying compact.”
The Toros’ Petar Musa assisted on Moreno’s goal, giving him 12 goal contributions (10 goals, two assists) this season. Musa has either a goal or an assist in seven of his last eight league games.
–Field Level Media
