RICHMOND, B.C. – Every team in this season's playoffs will feel that they have a shot at bringing home the MLS Cup come December. The Vancouver Whitecaps are no different and are heading into their Knockout Round game against FC Dallas Wednesday night (9 pm ET, TSN1 in Canada, MLS LIVE in US, match preview) in a confident mood on the back of a five-game unbeaten run.
The Whitecaps are 0-1 in their playoff history, having lost in the Knockout Round in 2012, but first-year head coach Carl Robinson feels that the battles of the 2014 season have been the ideal preparation for the challenges that now lie ahead.
"We played in the Western Conference, so it's not easy," Robinson told reporters. "We're ready for a tough challenge. I look at the last five games, and we had to go to Seattle and we had to win. We did, so we're used to tough games. We've got a fantastic opportunity now to make a little bit of history for this club. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but they know what they need to do and what they should do."
Which team will win in the Knockout Round?
Despite never having won at Toyota Stadium (0-5), Vancouver head into the game buoyed by their performances against FC Dallas this season, going 1-1-1 and losing just 2-1 at Dallas on a late goal on Sept. 13.
Familiarity may breed contempt between the two teams, but it has also highlighted a number of areas to Robinson that he feels his side can exploit.
"We'll be organized defensively, as we have been the last five games, and we'll make sure that when we get into attacking areas we can try and exploit their weaknesses," Robinson said. "They're a very dangerous attacking team, and I think Portland took advantage of them at the weekend through certain areas. They leave holes, and if we can get our attacking players into those pockets of space, then it'll be down to them whether they can finish, and we all know we can."
The Whitecaps ratcheted up their own intensity to close out the regular season and head into the playoffs having posted four consecutive shutouts.
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With their postseason goal achieved, the 'Caps know they cannot allow those levels to drop now: The players feel that bowing out in one game would feel like a waste of all that hard work to get there.
"I think the mentality is the same," goalkeeper David Ousted said. "We've just had five playoff games in a row. We're in that state of mind anyway, so I think that's great. If we can keep that intensity and keep that mentality, I think we have a great chance of winning. It's weird with these playoffs. It can be all over Wednesday or we can keep going 'til December 7. You need to figure out that every game could be the last, so that mentality has to shine through in the way we conduct ourselves."
