VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC will look to make it three straight wins on Saturday when they visit New England Revolution in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Here are three storylines to get you set for the match.
KICKOFF: 4:30 p.m. PT TV: TSN2 RADIO: TSN 1040
MISSING PIECES
There will be a few familiar faces missing from the ‘Caps lineup when they head out onto the pitch against New England Revolution this weekend. After picking up cautions in Vancouver's 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls, both Gershon Koffie and Kendall Waston will be suspended for the clash in Foxborough.
“It’s a big loss,” Carl Robinson told the media from New York this week. “They’ve been excellent the last couple of games especially. They’re big players, we know that, but it will give other players opportunities.”
Those ‘other’ players include Tim Parker and Diego Rodriguez at centre back – although Rodriguez’s continued recovery from injury might mean he has to sit this one out on the sidelines. In midfield, the ‘Caps can call upon Russell Teibert after his return from international duty or Deybi Flores, who made a brief cameo appearance in last Saturday’s match.
The good news for Robinson is that he may have midfielders Pedro Morales and Mauro Rosales available for selection again.
“There’s a possibility he could be involved in the 18 on Saturday,” Robinson said of his captain, who missed Saturday’s match with a calf injury.
Rosales, who missed the 2-1 win over the Red Bulls due to illness, could also make his return to the starting XI.
HARVEY ALL THE TIME
Saturday’s match will be Jordan Harvey’s 200th MLS game. It’s a phenomenal landmark for the ‘Caps fullback who started his career in Colorado, moving to Philadelphia Union in an MLS Expansion Draft before finally arriving in Vancouver in 2011.
Since then, he’s been a stalwart for the club.
“He probably doesn’t get all the attention that he should, because he’s just a good, solid, hard-working professional,” Robinson told whitecapsfc.com this week. “But let me tell you, every team that’s going to be successful in this league needs players like that and I’m delighted that we’ve still got him at the club. Since joining MLS, there have been a lot of changes here and I’m glad he wasn’t one of them.”
Saturday’s match will be one to remember for the 31-year-old, but Harvey’s just happy that he gets to share the landmark with his current teammates.
“I’m happy to reach this milestone with this team because it’s really such a great team," he said. "It’s the best team that I’ve been on.”
ROAD WARRIORS VS. HOME HEROES
The ‘Caps are currently midway through a five-game road stretch with the FIFA Women’s World Cup meaning that the team’s next tilt on home soil doesn’t come until the July 12 clash against Sporting KC.
When the fixtures were announced, some thought that the stretch had the potential to derail the team’s season. However, after a campaign that’s seen the Blue and White secure five wins on the road already this term, the extended trip is starting to look more like a blessing than a curse.
On Saturday, however, Robinson’s team go toe-to-toe with a New England outfit who haven’t lost an MLS match at home since July 26, 2014.
“They’re a very good team, they’re very physical, and they’re very strong at home,” the boss said of the encounter earlier this week," …but if we’re organized and disciplined then we’ll get our opportunities at the other end of the field.”
The ‘Caps are of course no strangers to snapping streaks. And, if their recent historic win in LA is anything to go by, the Road Warriors have every chance of causing another upset come Saturday afternoon.
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