Bob Mackin
THE BUZZ
The Vancouver Whitecaps play the Portland Timbers tomorrow at Swangard Stadium (7 p.m. Team 1040, Team1040.ca, Shaw TV).
SEVEN UP
The USL First Division first place, 6-2-1 Whitecaps have just seven goals, including three by Eduardo Sebrango and two by Jason Jordan. Five wins were 1-0 results. The other was 2-0 over the second-place Charleston Battery.
TAKA TWO
Whitecap Takashi Hirano will have a countryman on the other side of the ball. Japanese international Takayuki Suzuki is one of five Timbers with a goal. North Vancouver's Justin Thompson, a 2004 Whitecap, also has a single. Forward Chris Brown leads the 4-3-4 Timbers with four.
ALL-TIME
The Whitecaps are 18-8-7 all-time against the Rose City squad, including 13-1-2 north of the border. Vicente Arze scored the only goal in the May 24 win at Portland.
WOMEN FIRST
Revenge is on the minds of the 2-0-1 W-League Whitecaps when they host the 1-0-1 Seattle Sounders tomorrow (4 p.m., Shaw TV). The Whitecaps lead the all-time series 20-5-3, but Seattle's July 14, 2007 win at Swangard stopped the Whitecaps from going to the playoffs for the first time. The Whitecaps are home after a win and tie in Colorado. They go to Southern California for a trio next week.
IN SYNC
Burnaby's Christine Sinclair returns to the Whitecaps during a break in Olympic team preparations. She was most valuable player in the 2006 W-League championship when she scored the trophy-winner in the 3-0 final against the Ottawa Fury. It could be her last match in a Whitecaps' uniform, unless the club moves to the fledgling Women's Professional Soccer in 2009.
FIVE ALIVE
Andrea Neil, who hung up her boots last fall, will be honoured tomorrow when the Whitecaps retire her number 5 jersey.
