Minnesota United, Whitecaps attempting to move up in standings (Jul 26, 2018)
Crunch time is fast approaching for teams looking for a spot in the MLS playoffs.
Both the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Minnesota United, who meet Saturday at BC Place in Vancouver, are currently on the outside looking up with 13 games left on their 2018 schedules.
Minnesota (9-11-1), in its second year in MLS, sits in seventh place, just below the playoff cutline. The Loons (28 points) trail sixth-place Real Salt Lake by two points.
Ninth-place Vancouver (7-9-5), which has a conference-worst minus-12 goal differential this season, has 26 points.
The Whitecaps, who reached the Canadian Championship final with a 2-0 midweek win over the Montreal Impact, have lost three straight league matches.
"I'm pleased for them, I really am," Vancouver coach Carl Robinson said after the win over the Impact. "I thought it was a very professional, organized, disciplined, great character. Top performance by the boys. And again, when you go through periods of a little bit of inconsistency, you find out about yourself and your team and things like that."
The Whitecaps on Thursday completed the largest transfer in MLS history, reaching an agreement with Bayern Munich to send 17-year-old homegrown prospect Alphonso Davies to the German powerhouse at the end of the 2018 season. The transfer fee and additional compensation could total $22 million.
"It's a landmark day for the club, for the city, for the league, North America in general," Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi told the league's website. "It clearly breaks the old record of $10 million and I think it's justified as well.
"From the time that he joined us at 14 years old, it has been a rapid rise and it appears as though the ceiling is endless at this stage and it's great that he's now going to be challenged at the next level."
While Vancouver has had trouble of late, the Loons come in with a season-best, three-game win streak.
Minnesota routed Los Angeles FC 5-1 on Sunday behind two goals from Christian Ramirez.
"I thought some of the goals were fantastic," United coach Adrian Heath told MLSsoccer.com. "And, you know, we had so many other opportunities. And big moments, and I've said it a lot, are really important that you score at the appropriate time. And I felt that we did today."
That win came on the heels of wins over Real Salt Lake and New England. But there's a catch.
All three victories came at the friendly confines of TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Away from home, the Loons are just 1-8-0.
"We are probably going (to Vancouver) with a different mindset than we have in the past," Heath told the (St. Paul) Pioneer Press. "The players know what's expected of them. We've spoken about it, and if we want to take this season deep into the end of the year, then we have to pick up points on the road. It's as simple as that."
