Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Colorado Rapids | MLS Match Preview

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC vs COLORADO RAPIDS
BC PLACE, Vancouver, B.C.
Oct. 25, 2014 (WEEK 33, MLS Game #320)
7 p.m. PT (UDN; TSN/RDS2; Altitude)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC face the fight of the season when they look to clinch the final playoff berth this season as they play host to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at BC Place. Whitecaps FC come into the game knowing a win – or the failure of the Portland Timbers to win at FC Dallas in a match starting 30 minutes earlier – will put them in the postseason for a second time in their MLS history. Whitecaps FC are riding a four-game undefeated streak following a scoreless draw in San Jose, while the Rapids saw their winless streak reach 13 games in a 1-0 home loss to FC Dallas.

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REFEREE: Kevin Stott. SAR (bench): Adam Wienckowski; JAR (opposite): Greg Barkey; 4th: Baboucarr Jallow
MLS Career: 259 games; FC/gm: 25.5; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 63; pens: 64

SUSPENDED: COL: Jared Watts (through Oct. 19)
DISABLED LIST: VAN: Caleb Clarke (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (10 meetings): Whitecaps FC 3 wins, 12 goals … Rapids 6 wins, 15 goals … Ties 1
AT VANCOUVER (5 meetings): Whitecaps FC 2 wins, 8 goals … Rapids 2 wins, 6 goals … Ties 1

2014 (MLS):
4/5: VAN 1, COL 2 (Mattocks 67 – Jose Mari 79, 81)
6/28: COL 2, VAN 0 (Powers 20; Sanchez 36)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, and the Rapids have won both. Dillon Powers and Vicente Sánchez each scored in the first half in a 2-0 Colorado win, June 28 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; José Mari scored a pair of goals two minutes late in the second half to haul the Rapids back for a 2-1 win April 5 at BC Place.
• The win in the first meeting was the second victory ever for the Rapids at BC Place. Whitecaps FC won in 2012 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for their lone triumph on the Rapids’ home ground.
• Coaches record: Carl Robinson vs. COL: P2 W0 L2 D0 … Pablo Mastroeni vs. VAN: P2 W2 L0 D0

LAST MEETING (MLS):

• The Rapids took the lead in the 20th minute. Using a turn to create space for himself in the box, Dillon Powers unleashed a low blast that found just enough space to squeeze past Whitecaps FC goalkeeper David Ousted and the left-hand post.
• A quarter of an hour later, Vancouver fullback Nigel Reo-Coker upended Rapids striker Deshorn Brown on the left side of the box, and referee Ted Unkel pointed to the spot. Vicente Sanchez converted the penalty, firing home to give the home side a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute.
• Rapids goalkeeper Clint Irwin was asked to make just a single save for the shutout, turning aside a deflected 83rd-minute shot by Whitecaps center back Johnny Leveron.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-5-1): Clint Irwin - Marvell Wynne, Shane O'Neill, Drew Moor, Christopher Klute - Vicente Sanchez (Marlon Hairston 69), Nick LaBrocca, Dillon Powers, Jared Watts, Kamani Hill (Edson Buddle 81) - Deshorn Brown.
• VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted - Nigel Reo-Coker, Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey - Russell Teibert, Matias Laba (Mehdi Ballouchy 70) - Nicolas Mezquida (Darren Mattocks 46), Sebastian Fernandez (Gershon Koffie 46), Pedro Morales - Erik Hurtado.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC stretched their undefeated streak to four games, reaching a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium. Whitecaps FC sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with 47 points from 33 games.

LAST MATCH

• Whitecaps FC goalkeeper David Ousted was called upon to make three saves, his best stop in the first half when he got down quickly enough to parry a shot from Chris Wondolowski.
• San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch had to made just one save, in the 75th minute, when Kekuta Manneh’s shot from the corner of the 6-yard box caromed off the chest of Busch, who came off his line well.
• Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson made one change to the team that defeated Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 on Friday evening at CenturyLink Field. Johnny Leveron came into central defense in place of the suspended Kendall Waston.
• VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted - Steven Beitashour, Andy O'Brien, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey - Russell Teibert, Matias Laba (Gershon Koffie 61) - Kekuta Manneh, Pedro Morales (Sebastian Fernandez 71), Mauro Rosales - Erik Hurtado (Darren Mattocks 64).

TEAM NEWS

• Whitecaps FC extended their shutout streak to 303 minutes – the third-longest in the club’s MLS history – following the scoreless draw at San Jose.
• “Definitely wasn’t pretty, but sometimes you won’t play pretty and you’ll get the point and that was important,” goalkeeper David Ousted said. “We needed that point. We can go home and win and control our own destiny. Not a pretty game, not that great to watch I imagine, but so important that we got the point. We win it, and we’re in it – as simple as that. It’s nice to control our own fate that way. We’re looking forward to that game.”
• Whitecaps FC extended their undefeated streak to four games – they can claim the final playoff berth with a win, or the failure of the Portland Timbers to defeat FC Dallas.
• “I’m happy with the point, because we’re in control now of what we do, which is what I said five, six games ago: If we handle our business, we’ll get to where we want to get to. Going into the last game of the season knowing we need to get a result, I’m pleased,” Robinson said.
• Ousted recorded his 12th shutout of the season, and will end the year as the league leader in the category. Ousted has played every minute of every league game this season.
• “It’s always important to keep clean sheets, it’s always important to put up good numbers, and I’m happy with where I am,” Ousted said. “I said at the start of the season I felt really ready for it. I was in good shape, I worked really hard in the offseason coming in and I wanted to prove myself, and I think I did.”
• Said Robinson: "He's played very well. He's obviously got a commanding presence for us, but it's not just about him. It's about my back four, it's about my midfield players and forwards. We attack from the back, with defenders making angles and making space for midfield players to get it into attacking areas, and we defend from the front. I'm proud of David because he's got the clean sheet record, and that's credit to him, but we're a team. I said to the guys, ‘be proud, because you keep clean sheets as a team.’”
• With Kendall Waston suspended, Johnny Leverón made his first start since Aug. 23, playing the full match in central defense.
• Gershon Koffie was able to come off the substitutes’ bench for the final 22 minutes, his first league appearance since Aug. 10, when he played the full match in a midfield role.
• Whitecaps FC also assured they will be the Canadian representative for the CONCACAF Champions League for next year, after finishing with the best record among the three Canadian MLS clubs. The Canadian Championship will be in abeyance for one season.
• “We said that we had five cup finals to play in, and we’ve won three and tied one,” midfielder Russell Teibert said. “This is the last cup final that we’re going to have to play in before the playoffs, and we’re going to approach it like we have the past four games. I think if we stick to our game plan and everybody focuses on their tasks, individually and collectively, I know we can get a result.”

COLORADO RAPIDS

The Colorado Rapids saw their winless run stretched to 13 matches, falling 1-0 to FC Dallas on Saturday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids are in seventh place in the Western Conference with 33 points from 33 games.

LAST MATCH

• The game's lone goal came in the 55th minute. Colorado center back Chris Klute was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area, and referee Hilario Grajeda immediately pointed to the spot. Blas Perez stutter-stepped to send Clint Irwin the wrong way, scoring to the goalkeeper’s right.
• The Rapids were reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute when central defender Jared Watts received his second yellow of the match for a foul on Andres Escobar.
• FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez was called upon to make just one save in keeping the clean sheet.
• Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni made five changes to the team that fell 2-1 to Chivas USA at StubHub Center. Marvell Wynne, Christopher Klute, Marlon Hairston, Vicente Sanchez and Deshorn Brown all came into the team, in place of Thomas Piermayr, Marc Burch, Carlos Alvarez, Jose Mari and Charles Eloundou.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-2): Clint Irwin - Marvell Wynne, Zat Knight, Jared Watts (ejected 79), Christopher Klute - Marlon Hairston, Nick LaBrocca, Dillon Powers (Davy Armstrong 81), John Neeskens - Vicente Sanchez (Gabriel Torres 57), Deshorn Brown (Charles Eloundou 89).

TEAM NEWS

• The Rapids saw their club-record winless streak reach 13 games – matching the seventh-longest in MLS history – following the home loss against FC Dallas. The Rapids have gone 0-11-2 since their last win on July 25.
• “We’ve been working tactically all week and I said, “At the end of the day all this is meaningless if you don’t have the fight,” and I think today they fought hard and lost on a call. That call you have no control over,” said Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni. “I think for the most part we controlled what we did, it wasn’t the prettiest for either team to be fair. There wasn’t a whole lot of clear chances but I think the guys fought hard, and like I said, it’s a testament to the type of personalities we have.”
• Said Marvell Wynne: “We are trying to win every game. It’s just important to get a win, period. We go into every game thinking that we need to win. We haven’t won in a while but that doesn’t mean we have to win now just because we haven’t won. We’re still going to go out at 100 percent just like every game and hopefully get a result this time.”
• The Rapids were shut out at the attacking end for the eighth time this season, the first since they were blanked in back-to-back games Aug. 30-Sept. 5.
• “I thought we played well. We were knocking on the door and just couldn’t get one in,” said Rapids midfielder Nick LaBrocca after the game. “It was unfortunate to have that penalty kick against us and then the red card – it just came down to heart after that. We were pretty dangerous I thought but it’s just a matter of sticking together and getting ready for next year now.”
• Said Wynne: “It’s almost more frustrating that it’s not in our control. When you’re playing well, completing your passes, getting your shots on goal – a slip-up, they score, they win. You just look down and don’t understand. Whereas if there was a mistake of some sort you can blame yourselves, someone takes it hard. If it’s out of your control, it’s out of your control. Just hope the fates smile at you in the next game.”
• Jared Watts made his second consecutive start in the back four, after going six matches without appearing. But he will certainly miss out on the season finale after being sent off in the Dallas match.
• Zat Knight made his second consecutive start and his third appearance since joining the club, partnering Watts in central defense.
• “I think Zat is one of the guys that has stepped into the locker room and, without saying anything, has earned the respect of the guys,” Mastroeni said. “His ability to be such a professional day in and day out - I think he commands a presence.”
• Vicente Sanchez started his second match in the last three games, this time partnering Deshorn Brown in a two-man strike force.
• Marlon Hairston also made his first start since Aug. 30, coming in at a wide midfield role.