VANCOUVER — After going unbeaten in eight Major League Soccer matches, the Vancouver Whitecaps have now lost two straight heading into a match Saturday against the Western Conference-topping Seattle Sounders.
Vancouver lost 2-1 to FC Dallas on Wednesday night despite initially taking the lead through midfielder Pedro Vite. It followed a 3-1 loss to Portland the week before and have left the Whitecaps in ninth place in the conference.
The Whitecaps had claims for a penalty in Wednesday's match, with head coach Vanni Sartini maintaining his team deserved a point.
"We have to be honest with the guys. We didn't play very well in Portland and I think in the end, yesterday was an OK game in terms of a tie. So we need to do that extra performance against Seattle in order to bring the points home because now they're much needed," he said ahead of Saturday's match.
The message from Sartini is much the same as it has been the season: his team needs to find consistency and maintain a level of performance throughout the match.
He previously said his team performs well for extended periods but can be naive at times when defending or chasing lost attacking causes.
Sartini expanded on that when asked if he felt like he was repeating himself after being asked about these points over the course of the season.
"You need to have this holistic view as you look at your team. It's never the fault of the attack, the fault of the defence, the fault of the wide players, central players, they're all connected," he said. "If you don't attack well, rarely will you defend well and vice versa.
"We will find that consistency if we perform well."
Midfielder, and captain, Ryan Gauld and centreback Tristan Blackmon both missed Wednesday's match as the congested fixture list piles up for the Whitecaps.
Sartini refused to blame Vancouver's busy schedule on their recent losses but said it has taken a toll and forced player rotation.
"As tough as it is physically, it's pretty tough mentally having to reset, adjust, getting to know and prepare for a lot of different opponents," said forward Simon Becher.
Becher said his team is looking to put the last two results behind them and starting converting their shots.
"Staying sharp in these quick turnarounds, there's not a lot of time for training or things like that. A lot of it is recovery and taking care of the body and I think continuing to have the mindset of just being ready for the next chance. The life of a forward is you'll miss chances but it's about how you adjust and learn from it quickly," he said.
Seattle comes in to Saturday's match fresh off a loss of their own to Austin FC, with head coach Brian Schmetzer critical of his team's performance.
"I don't think we performed up to the standard of our club," he said, adding that his players needed to take some of the blame for the loss and lack of goals in recent weeks.
Like Vancouver, Seattle has performed better at home, with four of their seven wins this season coming at Lumen Field, and have struggled on the road.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (3-5-4) VS SEATTLE SOUNDERS (7-2-4)
Saturday, BC Place
RIVALRY RENEWED: Saturday's match against Seattle is the first of three meetings between the Cascadia rivals this season. Vancouver’s previous clash against the Sounders came last September at BC Place, with the Whitecaps claiming a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Vite and Julian Gressel.
ON THE ROAD: Vancouver has played three of its four games this month on the road and will go back on the road twice more before the end of the month.
ALL-TIME: In 32 regular season matchups since the clubs both joined MLS: the Whitecaps have won eight times, scoring 34 times, while the Sounders have won 16 times scoring 54 times. The teams have tied eight times.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press