Austin FC will seek a win to bolster their fading playoff hopes Saturday night when they host a Vancouver Whitecaps side fighting to maintain the Western Conference lead.
Austin (7-12-10, 31 points) begins the weekend in second-to-last place in the West, seven points below the playoff line with five matches to play. After consecutive losses at home to Nashville SC and away to Los Angeles FC, the Verde might need to win out to close that gap.
The Verde defeated Vancouver 2-1 in their previous meeting in Canada on Sept. 13, and interim Austin manager Davy Arnaud is aware that the Whitecaps also face pressure, holding just a one-point lead over second-place St. Louis city and a two-point advantage over FC Dallas.
“We obviously know that they’re a good team,” Arnaud said. “They’re fighting for something also, so they have something important to play for just as we do. So we understand what the game looks like. But I thought we had a good performance there in Vancouver, and we’ll try to build off that.”
The match is Austin’s first since the team extended 35-year-old striker Christian Ramirez’s contract through the 2027-28 season. Ramirez leads the Verde with nine goals, while Brandon Vazquez has scored in three straight matches to end his drought following his return in May from an ACL tear.
Vancouver is winless in its past four matches (0-1-3) entering the fourth of five straight road games. However, its recent performances have been stronger than the results.
Last Saturday at LAFC, the Whitecaps earned a 1-1 draw despite having Tristan Blackmon sent off in the seventh minute. They followed that with a 0-0 draw Wednesday against a St. Louis side unbeaten in an MLS-record-tying 19 league matches.
Vancouver (15-7-7, 52 points) dominated the early stages of the latter match, taking 10 shots in the first 13 minutes before its attack eventually fizzled.
“I was happy with the performance,” Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen said. “In the second half, we have to say that we looked tired in the end. We’ve had a lot of travel the last week, so it’s natural. But I think the players hung in there and really gave everything and (did) what you need to do in a big game like this.”
Brian White leads the Whitecaps with 17 goals, while Thomas Muller, who is sidelined due to a hamstring injury, has nine goals and a team-leading eight assists.
–Field Level Media
