VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC are set for a massive road match at Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders FC at 7 p.m. PT (TSN1 and TSN 1410 radio). The 'Caps need a win or draw to prevent Seattle from winning the Cascadia Cup. Here are some news and notes on Vancouver’s starting lineup.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 4-2-3-1
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 4.Kendall Waston, 44.Pa-Modou Kah, 2.Jordan Harvey; 15.MatÃas Laba, 28.Gershon Koffie; 13.Cristian Techera, 9.Nicolás Mezquida, 23.Kekuta Manneh; 29.Octavio Rivero
Substitutes
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 11.Darren Mattocks, 19.Erik Hurtado, 20.Deybi Flores, 26.Tim Parker, 31.Russell Teibert, 77.Pedro Morales
NOTES:
WFC head coach Carl Robinson makes two roster changes to his side from last weekend versus San Jose. Left back Jordan Harvey returns from his one match suspension for Christian Dean and winger Cristian Techera replaces an injured Mauro Rosales (right adductor strain).
Tonight, the 25th match of the year including the Amway Canadian Championship, will be the first time Robinson will start the same XI he has started in a previous match (started the same XI on June 20, a 2-1 win at New York Red Bulls) – team depth, roster rotation, travel, injuries, international duty, and suspensions.
Robinson’s XI has an average age of 26-years and six months. Five of the six attacking players are 23-years old, while Manneh is only 20. The back five are 27-years or older with an average of 30-years and seven months.
In total, seven different birth countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, Denmark, The Gambia (x2), Ghana, United States (x2), and Uruguay (x3)) are represented in the starters.
Keeper David Ousted makes his 71st consecutive MLS start, including playoffs. The 30-year-old native of Greve, Denmark, is second only to New York Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles (100) in consecutive MLS matches. This season, Ousted is first in MLS wins (11), tied for third in shutouts (7), and fifth in goals-against average (1.00).
Right back Steven Beitashour makes his 133rd start in MLS regular season action. The 28-year-old native of San Jose, California, is tied for the team lead in assists (4 - same as Morales) and tied for second most by a defender in the league. He is also second on the team (behind Waston’s 73), and tied for 10th in the league, in interceptions (69).
Centre back Kendall Waston is making his 33rd start, including MLS Cup Playoffs and ACC, for Whitecaps FC. Outside of his suspensions for yellow card accumulation on October 18 at San Jose and June 27 at New England, the first leg of the ACC against FC Edmonton, as well as international duty on July 18 at Portland, the 27-year-old defender has played the full 90 in every match since his first start for WFC on August 30 against Portland. The towering Costa Rican leads the league in clearances with 153 (110 of them are headed clearances, which is also the most in MLS), second in aerials won (94), tied for sixth in blocks (16), sixth in interceptions (73), and tied for 3rd in the league with MatÃas Laba in duels won (135).
The recently turned 35-year-old centre back Pa-Modou Kah will be making his 58th start in MLS and 18th on the season. In both of his two seasons in Portland, the native of Banjul, The Gambia, started 20 matches.
Left back Jordan Harvey makes his 103rd MLS regular season start for WFC, second only to Koffie (107), and 190th in league play. The 31-year-old native of Mission Viejo, California, is making his 15th start against Sounders FC.
Midfielder MatÃas Laba is making his 68th MLS regular season start tonight, his 52nd with WFC. The 23-year-old from Villa Raffo, Argentina, leads the league tackles won (95) and tied for 3rd in duels won (135). In addition, Laba has the second best passing accuracy on WFC (84.03 – Teibert is second in the league at 89.53).
Midfielder Gershon Koffie makes his 107th MLS regular season start today. The 23-year-old native of Koforidua, Ghana, who is a permanent resident of Canada, joined the club in September 2010 and has made 142 first team appearances for WFC in all competitions. Koffie has one goal and one assist in 10 appearance against Sounders FC.
The 23-year-old native of Quebracho, Uruguay, Cristian Techera, makes his eighth MLS start and 13th appearance in all competitions for WFC.
Midfielder Nicolás Mezquida makes his 12th start, 16th appearance including both ACC matches against FC Edmonton, on the year for Whitecaps FC. Tonight is the attacking midfielder’s third consecutive start (started four straight matches at the end of March, start of April). WFC MLS record in 2015 with Mezquida as a starter is 6W-1L-2D. The 23-year-old product of Paysandú, Uruguay, has now equalled his appearances and more than doubled his starts from his first year with the ‘Caps.
Winger Kekuta Manneh makes his 17th MLS regular season start on the season, started a total of 19 MLS matches in his first two seasons. Tonight is his ninth consecutive start (personal best) and his 12th of the last 13 matches. The 20-year-old native of Bakau, The Gambia, is sixth in the league in shots (57) and fourth in the league in completed dribbles (45).
Striker Octavio Rivero has started all but two MLS regular season match to start the season, behind only Ousted in minutes played with 1807. Rivero leads the team in goals scored with eight and third on the team in assists (3), behind only Morales and Beitashour (4). The 23-year-old Uruguayan is fourth in the league in shots (72), fourth in shots on goal (29), sixth in fouls suffered (48), and fifth in duels won (134)
On the bench, captain Pedro Morales will be available as a substitute for the second straight week after missing five matches with a left calf strain. Morales is tied with Beitashour for the team lead in assists with four and tied with Mattocks for third in goals with three.
Striker Darren Mattocks returns to the 18 after a successful international spell where he helped Jamaica reach the Gold Cup Final. The 24-year old native of Portmore, Jamaica, found the back of the net in the semifinal against the US and the final against Mexico. Mattocks, who is tied with Morales for third on the team in MLS goals with three, last played for WFC back on July 4 at Colorado.
On the injury front, left back Sam Adekugbe will miss his 13th match, including ACC, with a right ankle sprain but has returned to full training.
Additional match notes:
After 22 matches in 2015, Whitecaps FC have earned 36 points with a 11-8-3 record, which is four points more than last season where they were 7-4-11 after the same number of matches. Last season, WFC earned their 11th win of the season on October 10.
During the first four seasons in MLS, WFC were 10-36-22 on the road. This season, WFC have the best road record in the league at 6-4-2.
WFC all-time MLS regular season record is 53-59-46 with 192 GF and 203 GA.
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