VANCOUVER — The Major League Soccer season has been a journey for the Vancouver Whitecaps — literally.
The 'Caps (9-7-5) have logged thousands of kilometres crisscrossing the continent in recent months and will hit the road once again this weekend when they take on St. Louis City (4-8-10) in Missouri on Saturday.
The game will mark Vancouver's sixth away match in four weeks across all competitions. The club has played at home just once during the stretch.
Road fixtures have been good to the 'Caps this season, though, and Vancouver heads to St. Louis unbeaten in their last four outings.
The latest win saw Vancouver edge Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC 1-0 in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals in Langford, B.C., on Wednesday.
“The season’s had ups and downs and, thankfully, we got through that hard spell,” said captain Ryan Gauld. “We’re getting back to what we want to be, which is hard to beat. And at the same time, we’re scoring a few goals. I think we’ve tightened up defensively and also been a little more decisive up top as well.”
Saturday's game will feature some familiar faces. The Whitecaps downed St. Louis 4-3 at B.C. Place Stadium back on June 29.
That doesn't mean much this weekend, cautioned Vancouver defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“I think we are in for a tough game again," he said. "It was a tough game here in Vancouver but I think it’s going to be a little bit different game because they played a different lineup than I expect them to play now.”
After losing in Vancouver, St. Louis fired head coach Bradley Carnell and named technical director John Hackworth interim coach.
The team went on to beat the struggling San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 before falling 4-1 to the Colorado Rapids last week.
St. Louis has retained their identity as an aggressive, direct team under Hackworth, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
Sartini knows better than most what it's like to take over as bench boss midseason. He was named Vancouver's interim coach in August 2021 after the club dismissed Marc Dos Santos as head coach.
“It is a little bit difficult, but it depends on the relationship you have with the players. And also who you are as a person," Sartini said.
“The most difficult part is to get into the mind of the players and say ‘You really need to listen to me.’”
One player who's been listening to Sartini lately is Whitecaps defender Mathias Laborda.
Now in his second season with the 'Caps, the 24-year-old defender from Fray Bentos, Uruguay has grown "dramatically" over the past 18 months, the coach said.
“Tactically, we are Venus, he was on Jupiter when we started. He needed a period of adaptation," Sartini said. "But he’s a very good player and he is also a very coachable player. So he put himself to understanding what we are doing here and understanding how he could be useful to the team.”
Learning a new system hasn't always been easy, Laborda said.
“In Uruguay, it’s a different style. So I have to learn a lot here. My first year was so-so, I think," he said "So now I feel better. I feel like a new player because of the tactics. … I feel good now.”
His work was rewarded Wednesday when his cross into the penalty area found Gauld, who sent a glancing header into the back of the Pacific net.
The play marked Laborda's first career assist.
“Really good. But I prefer to score,” he said with a smile and a shrug.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (9-7-5) AT ST. LOUIS CITY (4-8-10)
Saturday, CityPark
INS AND OUTS: The Whitecaps will be without injured defender Tristan Blackmon (groin) and midfielder Ali Ahmed, who is with Team Canada at the Copa America. Several other Vancouver players are questionable for Saturday's game, including defenders Sam Adekugbe (calf) and Luis Martins (heel), and midfielder Ryan Raposo (quad).
HISTORY BOOKS: The Whitecaps hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series between the two clubs, but dropped a 3-0 decision in their first-ever visit to CityPark last season.
FRESH FACES: A pair of players made their Whitecaps debuts on Wednesday. Midfielder Jeevan Badwal and defender Belal Halbouni came on as second-half substitutes in Vancouver's victory.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
