The Houston Dynamo have never won a road match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Dynamo will look to halt that dubious streak and the Whitecaps will aim to continue their dominance on Wednesday night when the teams meet in Vancouver.
The Whitecaps are a solid 8-0-2 against Houston in matches played in Vancouver.
Last season’s match in British Columbia personified the Dynamo’s troubles, as an early 1-0 lead got away. Vancouver’s Simon Becher scored in the 88th minute and since-departed Lucas Cavallini tallied the winner four minutes later for a 2-1 Whitecaps triumph.
The only time the visiting team has prevailed in 21 all-time meetings between the teams was March 10, 2018. That’s when Vancouver edged the host Dynamo 2-1.
The Whitecaps (4-5-5, 17 points) are a solid 4-1-2 at home this season, while Houston (5-5-3, 18 points) is once again struggling in away matches. The Dynamo are 0-4-2 on the road this season and have won just twice in their past 18 MLS road matches (2-13-3).
Houston enters off a positive note as it posted a 2-1 home win over Austin FC on Saturday.
But Dynamo coach Ben Olsen is wary of a Vancouver attack that has scored 19 goals, six more than his club.
“They can score. A lot of service and a lot of looks on target. So we’re going to have to be at our best defensively,” Olsen said. “Then there’s some areas that we see that we can exploit at times.
“They’re a good team. They’re well-coached.”
However, Vancouver is just 1-3-0 in its last four MLS matches and is coming off a 3-1 road loss against St. Louis City.
Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini ripped official Serhiy Boyko after the match, saying his side had to play against 12 players as opposed to the usual 11.
“If we don’t receive a letter from the league that apologizes for the shameful performance of the referee … it’s something that the league can do it and should do it because it’s for the good of the league,” Sartini said after the match. “… I think it’s a game that should be canceled because the referee was a shame.”
Sartini stood by his comments on Monday. Come Tuesday, Sartini and six of his players were fined undisclosed amounts by Major League Soccer.
Brian White leads the Whitecaps with five goals and Becher has four. Amine Bassi leads Houston with five goals.
–Field Level Media
