D.C. United continue their push for an Eastern Conference playoff spot when they make the long trip to Vancouver to face the Western Conference-leading Whitecaps on Saturday night.
D.C. United (6-8-11, 29 points) enter the weekend in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four points below the playoff line. The eighth-place New York Red Bulls and ninth-place FC Cincinnati each have 33 points.
Just being in a battle for a playoff spot with nine matches remaining is something of an accomplishment for Rene Weiler’s squad. D.C. United finished last in Eastern Conference with an MLS-worst 26 points (5-18-11) in 2025.
“I think the biggest thing is just finishing out strong, putting ourselves in a good position,” D.C. midfielder Brandon Servania said. “I think if we focus on our performance, what we can do better, what we didn’t do well, what we want to repeat, it will give us the best possible chance to keep getting results.”
D.C., which is just 2-3-6 on the road this season, left Thursday to make the 2,300-plus-mile, 5 1/2-hour flight to the West Coast.
“It will definitely help getting there a day early and kind of adjust,” Servania said.
Also hurting United will be the absence of leading goal-scorer Tai Baribo, who is out on international duty.
Vancouver (15-6-4, 49 points), which holds a five-point lead over the second-place Houston Dynamo, third-place St. Louis City and fourth-place FC Dallas in a tight Western Conference race, can become the second team to clinch an MLS Cup playoff spot. The Whitecaps would make the playoffs on Saturday with a win plus additional help from the teams chasing them.
The Whitecaps are 9-4-1 at home and possess the top goal differential (plus-33) in MLS. They are coming off a 3-0 victory over Real Salt Lake last Saturday in Sandy, Utah.
The victory over RSL ended a stretch of 10 matches in a 34-day span for the Whitecaps, including two Canadian Championship contests. Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen was glad his team had a chance to catch its breath without a midweek contest this week.
“It’s been an exhausting time with a lot of games the past four weeks,” Sorensen said. “Some players we had to play even more minutes than we might have wanted to, but people look good, and we’re ready to move forward.”
Nashville SC, who lead the Eastern Conference, are the only team to have clinched an MLS Cup playoff spot so far.
–Field Level Media
