Struggling Vancouver Whitecaps look to regain form against Real Salt Lake

Vancouver Whitecaps' Brian White shoots past Portland Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau but hits the post during MLS action in Vancouver on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. White hopes the soccer gods will be a little kinder this weekend. (Ethan Cairns / The Canadian Press)

Brian White hopes the soccer gods will be a little kinder this weekend.

The Whitecaps striker saw several prime chances bounce the wrong way on Sunday as Vancouver dropped a 2-1 decision to Los Angeles FC — a result that extended the club's winless stretch to six straight Major League Soccer games (0-4-2).

"I think the soccer gods weren't particularly on our side that day. It's a bit cruel," he said. "But I think we can take a little bit of confidence that we were able to create."

White had five shots against LAFC, including one that ricocheted off the post in injury time. Asked whether football fortune might favour him this week, the American forward smiled.

“One can hope, right?" he said "I think I was just building up a little bit of a debt. So hopefully I can cash in on Saturday.”

The 'Caps (13-12-8) will look to snap their skid Saturday when they visit Real Salt Lake (15-7-11) for their regular-season finale.

The matchup is Vancouver's last chance to move up the Western Conference standings and avoid a post-season play-in game.

“Obviously, we’ve had a bad run of results recently," White said. "So it'd be great to go into playoffs with a little bit of more positive energy, a win, and see what we can do from there.”

A familiar face will be absent from the Vancouver touchline on Saturday. Head coach Vanni Sartini will be suspended from the match after receiving his third yellow card of the season late in last week's loss to LAFC.

Assistant coach Michael D'Agostino will take over the reins — a position he's familiar with after stepping in for a suspended Sartini to start the season.

“For me personally, it doesn't matter if I'm acting as the head coach for the game or not," D'Agostino said. "It stays the same for us the whole week and up until 90 minutes before the game, nothing will change. We’ve just got to make sure that we keep doing the things that we plan to do.”

Vancouver's lineup is set for a boost with the return of six players from international duty. How much Ali Ahmed (Canada), Sam Adekugbe (Canada), Andrés Cubas (Paraguay), Ryan Gauld (Scotland), Fafa Picault (Haiti) and Pedro Vite (Ecuador) will play Saturday depends on their level of fatigue, D'Agostino said, but having them available is important for the club.

“Obviously on the field, it's very, very important to get some of your top players back on the pitch," he said. "And not just for those guys to come back in, but for the guys around them, because I think they have a lot of belief in them.”

RSL heads into Saturday's matchup unbeaten in their last five outings (2-0-3) and well rested, with their last game being a 1-0 victory over San Jose on Oct. 5.

The 'Caps aren't focused on their opponent's track record, though. Instead, the club is looking at its own play and looking to perform the way they want to come playoff time later this month.

“Even though this is not a playoff game, it's kind of like it and we need to treat it like a playoff game," D'Agostino said. "So we need to make sure we're a little bit more sharp, a little bit less tentative in certain moments, and try to find consistency.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-12-8) AT REAL SALT LAKE (15-7-11)

Saturday, America First Field

SHOOT FOR SEVENTH: Vancouver must win Saturday to have any hope of clinching seventh spot in the West and avoiding a play-in game. They'll need some help, too, from St. Louis City, who are taking on current seventh-place squad Minnesota United on Saturday. If the 'Caps win and St. Louis beats Minnesota, Vancouver will finish the regular season in seventh. The Whitecaps could also take seventh with a win and a draw between Minnesota and St. Louis, as long as the 'Caps have the edge in tiebreakers, such as goal differential.

HISTORY BOOKS: Salt Lake holds a 14-13-5 edge in regular-season meetings between the two clubs. Saturday marks the second time the teams have faced off this season after RSL took a 2-1 victory in Vancouver back in March.

WELCOME BACK: Saturday will mark Whitecaps midfielder Damir Kreilach's return to Salt Lake, where he played for five seasons from 2018 through 2023. RSL is set to honour the Croatian star in a pre-game ceremony.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.