It would have been difficult to have scripted a much better start to the Whitecaps’ season, as Vancouver has won five of its first six matches and boasts the highest-scoring offense in Major League Soccer.
Coach Jesper Sorensen’s confident club will look for more of the same against visiting New York City FC on Saturday.
Fresh off its run to the MLS Cup final last season, Vancouver (5-1-0, 15 points) has just one blemish on the early season — a 1-0 home loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on March 21. The Whitecaps have an MLS-best 17 goals, and the team trails only Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference standings.
Vancouver got goals from Thomas Muller and Sebastian Berhalter in second-half stoppage time to propel grab a 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers last weekend. Sorensen’s team has also received reinforcements, as 21-year-old Bruno Caicedo made his MLS debut last week after signing with Vancouver in January.
Caicedo took three shots in an effective first impression with his new club.
“Bruno Caicedo’s debut was amazing,” Sorensen said. “He hasn’t been here for long, but everybody can see what he can do. He was really hungry to make an impact and he did. If this is what we can expect from him from the start of his career for the Whitecaps, then we have exciting things to look forward to.”
Veteran Brian White leads Vancouver with five goals, while Berhalter has three goals and a team-best four assists.
New York City (3-1-2, 11 points) hits the road after four consecutive home games. NYCFC are eager to remove the bad taste that a 1-1 draw to St. Louis City left last weekend. Coach Pascal Jansen’s team surrendered an equalizing goal in the sixth minute of added time.
Despite earning at least a point in five of its first six outings — including against St. Louis — New York City is far from satisfied with its recent play.
“It’s one point, but it felt like a loss,” Jansen said. “To concede the way we did in the final part of the game is simply impossible. You have to put your life on the line.”
Nicolas Fernandez’s five goals spearhead a New York team that isn’t going to put added stress on itself ahead of Saturday, even on the heels of back-to-back disappointments. For the St. Louis matchup, NYCFC fell 3-2 to Inter Miami.
“The pressure is always there for us because we want to play our ‘A’ game every time,” Jansen said. “It was a tough draw against St. Louis, but there’s no more pressure than usual going into the Vancouver game.”
The two teams have not met since the 2023 season, when they played to a 1-1 draw in New York.
–Field Level Media
