By Canadian Press

After a drubbing in L.A, the Whitecaps look to return to their winning ways in Austin

Apr 14, 2023 | 11:20 AM

VANCOUVER — The last time the Vancouver Whitecaps won on the road in Major League Soccer play was June 2022.

Since that long-ago victory — a 2-0 decision over Dallas FC at Toyota Stadium — the ‘Caps have failed to secure a win as a visiting team. 

Vancouver enters Saturday’s match against Austin FC following a 3-0 loss to LAFC in the second leg of CONCACAF Champions League action, losing 6-0 on aggregate.

Mexican attacker Carlos Velas scored twice before Jose Cifuentes scored the final goal in the 65th minute.

Midfielder Julian Gressel, who is second in the league for assists, said the loss was not as large as it appears on paper.

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“I think the difference is tiny. It’s not that 6-0 you see on the scoresheet in my opinion, it’s the individual quality, the ruthlessness in front of goal,” he said after training on Thursday.

Gressel was called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team for the match against Mexico on Apr. 19.

Attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld spoke about the need for Vancouver to turn their road woes to success.

“When we play at home we seem to be more aggressive, taking the game to whoever comes to us. We need to try to replicate that when we go away,” he said.

Since opening the regular season with two straight losses — 2-1 at home to Salt Lake and 2-1 in San Jose — the Whitecaps have maintained an unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer with two wins and three draws in their last five matches.

The Whitecaps come into Saturday’s game on a two-game winning streak in league play, having blanked CF Montreal 5-0 and the Portland Timbers 1-0 at B.C. Place Stadium.

Gauld admitted LAFC are a level above the Whitecaps in terms of quality, but said the team needs to move past the pair of 3-0 losses.

“It’s in the past and there’s obviously stuff we need to do better than we showed in that game,” he said.

After the drubbing to LAFC, head coach Vanni Sartini said his team needs to work on not exposing its defence.

“We need to continue not putting our defence under pressure,” he said.

He admitted on Tuesday that he was unhappy with the performance of some of his players in Los Angeles.

“I thought in the second half some guys could have pushed more. Some of the guys that came on. When we give you a chance to play, and you’re in contention for the jersey on Saturday, you could have played better,” he said.

Sartini has preached the need for his team to play “with maturity” and not worry if they fall behind.

“You need to build in order to arrive on a stage. We have to keep pounding and keep doing the things that we’re doing,” he said.

Gressel echoed his coach, and spoke of LAFC’s skill and quality as a soccer team.

“Good teams punish you and they’re the best in MLS or at least in North America,” he said. “It was a good lesson.”

VANCOUVER (2-3-2) VS AUSTIN FC (2-1-3)

Unbeaten stretch: The ‘Caps will look to extend their five-match unbeaten run as they play their fifth match in 15 days against fellow Western Conference side Austin FC on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. The five-match unbeaten run is also the club’s longest in MLS since a six-match unbeaten streak to end the 2021 regular season.

Numbers game: Heading into the weekend fixture, Vancouver find themselves atop several key statistics in MLS play. The Whitecaps currently lead the league in big chances created with 15, key passes with 79, and is second in expected goals with 13.0.

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 14, 2023.

Nick Wells, The Canadian Press