Another Wednesday, another Whitecaps. Put those two things together and you have a sentence that makes editors break out into cold sweats, and Whitecaps Wednesday. So welcome, and please, make yourself at home whilst I stride this towel over to Jason with which to wipe his moisty brow.
This is the latest edition of the March to March, bringing the total now to six. SIX! Can you believe it? I don’t even own six pairs of underwear (what proud, decent man does though), yet here I am punching out a sextuple of Whitecaps Wednesday pieces. You probably can’t even count them all on one hand anymore! And if you can, colour me impressed.
August is a busy month for Caps, who manage to squeeze five games into five weeks. That means five airtight predictions in which you can only yearn to store your favourite sandwiches. Click on to read on, friend.
Game #22: The first day of August finds the Whitecaps in Seattle to face the Sounders for the second time this season. This game marks the second-to-last Cascadia Cup match of the season for the Caps and could present a must-win for the team should they have hopes on retaining the title.
Historical Result Table:
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| 11 – JUN – 2011 | Seattle Sounders | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 2 |
| 24 – SEP – 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 1 – 3 |
| 19 – MAY – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 2 – 2 |
| 18 – AUG – 2012 | Seattle Sounders | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 0 |
| 29 – SEP – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 0 – 0 |
| 08 – JUN – 2013 | Seattle Sounders | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 – 2 |
| 06 – JUL – 2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 2 – 0 |
| 10 – OCT – 2013 | Seattle Sounders | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 – 4 |
| 25 – MAY – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 2 – 2 |
| 06 – JUL – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 1 – 0 |
| 11 – OCT – 2014 | Seattle Sounders | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 – 1 |
| 16 – MAY – 2015 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Seattle Sounders | 2 – 1* |
*Note: This result correlates to an earlier prediction made in “The March to March – Part 3”
The Rub: This is the first and only game the Whitecaps will have in front of the rambunctious crowd at Century Link Field in 2015 MLS regular season play. The Sounders have been unable to secure a Cascadia Cup since 2011 and will be looking to apex the mountain this year. I’ve got the Whitecaps earning the victory between these two clubs in May and extending their win streak to three over their Washington rivals in the process. The Sounders are too good of a team to allow that to continue, and as the Cascadia Cup picture comes into focus, they will find some extra motivation to take this one in front of their fans 3-1.
Game #23: August 8th sees the Whitecaps welcome Real Salt Lake into BC Place stadium. Remember, this Salt Lake features only real salt and real lakes – no fake stuff here. Just pure, authentic, genuine NaCl and H2O sprinkled with elevated levels of CO2 because our freshwater systems are going straight down the crapper.
Historical Result Table:
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| 04 – JUN – 2011 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 0 |
| 06 – OCT – 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Real Salt Lake | 3 – 0 |
| 27 – JUL – 2012 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1 |
| 11 – AUG – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Real Salt Lake | 2 – 1 |
| 27 – OCT – 2012 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 – 0 |
| 13 – APR – 2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Real Salt Lake | 1 – 1 |
| 04 – MAY – 2013 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 0 |
| 28 – SEP – 2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Real Salt Lake | 0 – 1 |
| 27 – APR – 2014 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 2 |
| 20 – JUL – 2014 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 – 1 |
| 28 – SEP – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Real Salt Lake | 2 – 1 |
| 18 – APR – 2015 | Real Salt Lake | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1* |
*Note: This result correlates to an earlier prediction made in “The March to March – Part 2”
The Rub: Real Salt Lake has seen some significant pieces of their defensive corps depart over the offseason. The bearded one, Nat Borchers, was sent to Portland after spending seven seasons with the Real Lake of Salt. Fellow defender Chris Wingert, who collected over 200 appearances with Salt Lake, was selected by NYCFC in the expansion draft and reunited with his former coach Jason Kreis. The Utah-based squad may be vulnerable there and Carl Robinson’s Whitecaps fancy themselves a group capable of some offensive punch. The Whitecaps will look to attack their opponents, and they will succeed, winning by a 4-1 score.
Game #24: The Caps travel to beautiful Kansas City on August 15. I’m not really sure if Kansas City is beautiful, but the parts of it I’ve seen on Street View seem to be pleasant enough. Anyways, my previous prediction had Sporting Kansas City stealing three points at BC Place in July and a rematch in short order should be interesting.
Historical Result Table:
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| 02 – APR – 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Sporting Kansas City | 3 – 3 |
| 26 – JUN – 2011 | Sporting Kansas City | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1 |
| 19 – MAY – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Sporting Kansas City | 1 – 3 |
| 04 – JUL – 2013 | Sporting Kansas City | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 – 1 |
| 10 – AUG – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Sporting Kansas City | 2 – 0 |
| 12 – JUL – 2015 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Sporting Kansas City | 2 – 3* |
*Note: This result correlates to an earlier prediction made in “The March to March – Part 5”
The Rub: It’s the second time these clubs will face each other in just over a month and a do over can present coaches and players the opportunity to adjust tactically, especially when memories are fresh. I believe the Whitecaps offense will begin to come around at this point in the season and will pose a significant threat to their opponents. Sporting KC had a turbulent 2014 and August marked the beginning of their downward trend last season – to expect the same may be presumptuous, but for this affair at least, the result will mirror their past. Whitecaps fly home with a 2-0 victory.
Game #25: On August 22 I’ll be dusting off the ol’ speedo and wearing it discreetly under my garb to honour FC Dallas when they come to town. Truthfully though, matches against Dallas are usually great entertainment and really, why pay for theatre tickets when you can get this kind of feigning at a soccer game?
Historical Result Table:
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| 23 – APR – 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 1 – 2 |
| 16 – OCT – 2011 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 0 |
| 22 – APR – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 1 – 0 |
| 16 – AUG – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 0 – 2 |
| 16 – SEP – 2012 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 – 0 |
| 21 – APR – 2013 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 0 |
| 27 – APR – 2013 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 2 – 2 |
| 08 – SEP – 2013 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 – 1 |
| 27 – JUL – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 2 – 2 |
| 14 – SEP – 2014 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1 |
| 04 – OCT – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | FC Dallas | 2 – 0 |
| 30 – OCT – 2014 | FC Dallas | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1 * |
*Note: Postseason match.
The Rub: History isn’t on the Whitecaps’ side when it comes to playing FC Dallas – having only won twice versus the Hoops in 12 attempts doesn’t exactly translate into a sparkling winning percentage. This is also the first match between the two clubs since Dallas eliminated Vancouver from the 2014 MLS playoffs after converting a late, controversial penalty kick. Undoubtedly, the Caps will be looking to seek a measure of revenge for the perceived slight and will dig deep to redress the situation. This may be the loudest BC Place gets for a match this year, especially during a 2-0 victory celebration for the hometown team. Consider the bitter loss avenged.
Game #26: Vancouver hits the road to take on the Houston Dynamo for the first time this season on August 29. Texas in the middle of August should be nice. And hot. And dry. It’s the Whitecaps’ last match of the month and it’s bound to be a scorcher.
Historical Result Table:
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| 10 – APR – 2011 | Houston Dynamo | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 – 1 |
| 27 – AUG – 2011 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Houston Dynamo | 1 – 0 |
| 10 – JUN – 2012 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Houston Dynamo | 3 – 1 |
| 23 – MAR – 2013 | Houston Dynamo | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 – 1 |
| 30 – MAR – 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Houston Dynamo | 2 – 1 |
The Rub: Erick Torres was handed to Houston through some sort of allocation process that was believed to be arbitrated by one of the Lehmann brothers. It centered around nothing because crooked doesn’t have a middle. Despite this, the 2014 MLS all-star is an outstanding young talent who will undoubtedly boost the Dynamo’s un-dynamic offense from 2014, which finished with the fourth lowest goal total in MLS. Torres has collected four goals in four career games versus the Whitecaps, but the sort of good news in all of this is three of his tallies have come at BC Place, so it’s possible he thrives on disappointing legions of Vancouverites. But sort of good news isn’t really good news, so it’s just sort of a good result for the Whitecaps, playing to a 1-1 draw. Which is still pretty good news.
The End Result: The Whitecaps finish a busy month with an impressive 3-1-1 (W-L-T) record and seem to be hitting their stride heading into the final weeks of the season. Their overall record now sits at 13-9-5, the offense is really starting to produce, the defense has solidified itself and memories of Camilo are disappearing quicker than the population of Sochi. With just two months to go, the Caps will be in the mix for the MLS postseason and have seven games to go, including their first versus Frank Lampard and New York City FC. We’ll take a closer look at that match in the next edition of the March to March, coming next week!