Vancouver Whitecaps aim for top form against LAFC

Playing well isn’t enough for the Vancouver Whitecaps anymore.

Heading into Sunday’s playoff game against Los Angeles, the Caps know they need to be at their best.

“We just realized it’s not good enough to play against these guys. Because if we just play well, it’s going to end up like the last two games: we’re very close and we’re going to lose,” head coach Vanni Sartini said. “And so we need to play well and have a little bit of a killer punch. instinct.”

Vancouver dropped one game in its best-of-three first-round series after losing a 2-1 decision to LAFC last week.

The odds for this weekend’s matchup are all too familiar: The Caps were eliminated from last year’s playoffs after LAFC won back-to-back games, first at home and then in Vancouver.

Circumstances are a little different this year, Whitecaps captain Ryan Gold said.

Last year, Vancouver’s playoffs began with a “demoralizing” 5-2 loss to LAFC.

“It felt like a tough loss and it looked like we were going to have to struggle. And in the second game we showed a good fight, but it wasn’t enough,” Gold said. “This year I feel like we’re better prepared and in a better position to make more of a game out of it.”

This time around, the Whitecaps kicked off their postseason campaign with a decisive 5-0 win over the Portland Timbers in wild card play before moving on to face Major League Soccer’s top Western Conference team.

Vancouver limited Los Angeles’ potent offense over the weekend, allowing just four shots on target. One of Los Angeles’ two goals came on a penalty kick.

The Whitecaps defenders are confident they can repeat – and perhaps even improve on – this performance on Sunday.

“They’re a good team, but I think the way we were set up put them under a little more pressure and put them in difficult situations that maybe they weren’t in against us in the past. – Tristan Blackmon said.

“We want to do better than last year. … Obviously we need to focus on, you know, the task at hand here at home, but we feel very confident heading into this (third) game.”

To force a tiebreaker, the Caps must score goals as well.

Gold was the only Whitecap to score in the first game, striking home five minutes into stoppage time.

“I think the most important thing is to play better offensively than we did in Los Angeles,” Sartini said. “I think we played a very good defensive game. We could have played a little better offensively, not just because of the chances we missed, we could have had more chances.”

Scoring against Los Angeles hasn’t been easy this season. The club was fourth stingy in the regular season and had World Cup winner Hugo Lloris of France in goal. In four matches against LAFC this season, the Whitecaps have scored four goals.

However, the team is not looking at past results as it prepares for Sunday.

“LAFC has beaten us in a lot of ways over the last few years. So if we want to challenge to be the best, we have to beat the best and they will lead the conference,” Gold said.

“We need to believe that we can achieve results. And I think in the last game we showed that we are close. The faith is definitely there to go out and do it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.