VANCOUVER, BC – Until a few weeks ago, the Vancouver Whitecaps hadn't scored from a set piece and no defender had found his way onto the scoresheet.
It was a strange quirk, especially considering the number of players on the Whitecaps roster with the ability to produce pinpoint delivery and the targets with the kind of aerial prowess to put that service in the back of the net.
"Why the lack of production?" reporters asked Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson. Nobody's asking that anymore.
Of the seven goals Vancouver have scored over their last two MLS matches and Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League tie, five have come from set pieces and four have come from defenders.
So what's changed?
"That [our guys are] getting on the end of them," Robinson joked. "That's the basic nuts and bolts of it. The delivery's been fantastic from Mauro [Rosales], from Pedro [Morales], from Cristian [Techera], Nico [Mezquida]. And the timings of runs into the box."
The uptick in production couldn't have come at a better time.
As goal dried up for striker Octavio Rivero, it's been Vancouver's centerbacks who have answered Robinson's challenge to step up and take some of the goalscoring duties off the Uruguayan's shoulders.
Kendall Waston, Pa-Modou Kah (twice) and Tim Parker have all found the net over the last three games, with Kah and Parker producing volley and backheel finishes that any striker would have been proud of.
"I know, it's crazy," Kah said. "That's what I've been saying all along. Sometimes in football you never know. Now it seems we're getting goals from the set plays rather than open plays, but we'll take any goal we can get to go with where we are right now. We're very happy with it."
Waston kicked things off with his header from a Rosales corner against San Jose two weeks ago, but doesn't want to give too much away when it comes to strategy.
"What's changed is our mentality at set pieces," Waston told reporters. "Defending set pieces, we were doing very well, but going forward, a little change was what was needed and we found it. There's been three games in a row where the centerbacks are scoring, so that's good for us."
The performances have the Whitecaps backline believing that they can keep their scoring streak going, continuing it with the visit from an understrength Real Salt Lake side this evening (10pm ET; TSN1 in Canada, MLS LIVE in US).
To do so, they'll need goals, of course, and the current run has the whole backline thinking like a striker.
"It's nice," right-back Steven Beitashour said of all the defensive goals of late. "But Jordan [Harvey] and I have a little bit of a burden now. Kendall's got his, Kah's got his, so Jordan and I are up next hopefully."
