VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game. Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White. “We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said. “We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.
” The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play. First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.
A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday. Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.
A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.
84) through the playoffs. No one outsi.
