On the final day of the MLS regular season, the Vancouver Whitecaps dropped their fourth straight match, falling to Real Salt Lake by a score of 2-1 at America First Field.
Despite clinching a berth in the play-in, the Whitecaps will enter the MLS playoffs with absolutely no momentum, as they’ll need to break their worst stretch of results under Vanni Sartini to date, having a lot to prove to both themselves and supporters alike heading into the postseason.
The first half of this match down in Utah was reasonably low-event, as after Cristian Arango had a decent look inside the first minute of play, there were few genuine scoring opportunities for either side.
Salt Lake dominated possession, as expected, while the Whitecaps looked to hit the home side on the counter-attack. This strategy appeared as though it could be a fruitful one for the Whitecaps, even if their lack of sharpness on the ball when they had the chance to break forward held them back in the opening frame.
The match opened up after halftime, as Alessandro Schopf drew a foul inside the area at the 50-minute mark, sending the Whitecaps to the spot. There was a questionable amount of contact on the play, and though there was a lengthy review, the call was upheld by VAR, and Fafa Picault stepped up to take the penalty.
Picault had the chance not only to secure the lead for Vancouver but also to trigger a contract extension with the Whitecaps as he stepped up to the spot, but perhaps the gravity of the movement caught up with the veteran at the wrong time, as he skied his effort well high of the frame.
From there on, the match was far more open, and Vancouver would find the opening goal 58 minutes in. Only a minute after entering the field of play, the ball fell to Whitecaps captain Ryan Gauld at the edge of the RSL area, and the Scot made no mistake, firing a low shot through a crowd of bodies and into the bottom left corner of the Salt Lake goal.
I think it would be a bit unfair to say Vancouver simply looked to hold on to the lead after that, although there was a noticeable push from the home side, as the hosts had their eye on staying ahead of Seattle for playoff seeding.
After a switch of play launched RSL in transition, Diego Luna cut inside against two Whitecaps defenders and managed to launch a beautiful strike past a hopeless Isaac Boehmer. The strike levelled the match 1-1 with just under 20 minutes to play. Although it was a great play from Luna, questions could be asked as to how neither Ranko Veselinovic nor Bjorn Inge Utvik were able to get a block in.
Finally, the crucial blow for the home side came in the 82nd minute. This time it was a rather innocent-looking play, as a high looping ball dropped towards Isaac Boehmer in his own six-yard box.
It was a tough moment for the young Canadian keeper, as he was having a very good match up to that point, but the Okanagan native completely misjudged the ball. As a result, it banked off his shoulder and into the Whitecaps goal, handing the home team a critical breakthrough in a match that was still very tightly contested.
As time wound away, Vancouver tried to push for an equalizer, but the Whitecaps simply looked out of gas. Fitting, I think, as this has been the biggest theme of the late stages of this MLS regular season for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Alright, here are three thoughts from the match:
Off-season Signings Slumping Heading into Playoffs:
Heading into this season, the Whitecaps didn’t make too many big alterations to their roster, instead choosing to tweak around the edges. As a result, they entered the season with only a handful of new signings on the roster, with the trio of Damir Kreilach, Fafà Picault and Bjørn Inge Utvik sitting as the marquee arrivals.
Interestingly, all three hit the ground running with the Whitecaps, too. Kreilach found the net in Concacaf Champions Cup action vs. Tigres and had a goal within the first four weeks of the MLS season, Picault looked like one of the signings of the season after putting up 10 goals and seven assists in all competitions by mid-September, while Utvik rounded things off with some solid starts at the back which earned him more regular minutes as he found his feet at the back.
Because of that, it boded well heading into the playoffs, as it was hoped the trio could build off that positive momentum, giving the Whitecaps more options to lean on in the postseason.
Given that some of the Whitecaps signings over the years usually took some time to truly find their feet within this team, that was another reason to remain hopeful that there was still more to come from each of the three.
Now, however, big questions surround each of them as the Whitecaps gear up for the postseason, and it could potentially impact their ability to earn significant minutes going forward.
First, there’s Kreilach, who has struggled since picking up an injury in May, with a June goal against the Colorado Rapids his lone goal contribution in all competitions since the beginning of April. Because of that, he’s fallen down the depth chart and will be hard-pressed to find minutes in the playoffs, sitting as an unused substitute in this RSL match.
Yet, Kreilach is the least of the Whitecaps worries. While a player of his calibre could be useful in the playoffs, especially given his history of clutch play, the biggest value he was going to bring this year was going to come from the rest he could provide Brian White – heading into the postseason, it’s expected White plays heavy minutes there regardless.
With Picault and Utvik, however, they seemed tipped to play big roles in the postseason just weeks ago, making their recent slumps more concerning.
Certainly, based on his output from the beginning of the season until mid-September, Picault will be the big one to watch now. Sitting without a goal and an assist in the Whitecaps’ last six MLS games, he’s seemed to lack the confidence that was flowing through him earlier in the campaign, and there was no better example of that than his penalty attempt in this game – he didn’t even come close to hitting the target with that shot he took from the spot.
For a Whitecaps team that has struggled to score lately, scoring just six times across their last seven MLS games, they need Picault’s offence, badly, but now, it’s hard to know if he’ll even start heading into the playoffs. Perhaps feeling that defence might be their best route towards postseason success based on their offensive struggles, it’s possible now that the Whitecaps start their play-in match against the Portland Timbers in a 3-5-2, one that could push Picault to more of a super-sub role.
As for Utvik, he continued a rough stretch of play in this game, one that’s seen several goals against come from his side of the pitch. In this case, both RSL’s equalizer and the winner came up against the right side of the Whitecaps defence, with the equalizer, in particular, being one where Utvik will be looked at.
There, he ended up dropping too deep when Diego Luna received the ball out wide, and he continued to drop back even as Luna ran at him. As a result, it allowed Luna to fire an uncontested shot, one that a player of his quality wasn’t going to miss.
Yet, that’s been the big thing that’s hurt Utvik lately – that passive defending hasn’t suited itself to playing on the outside of the back three. Often a position where one can be isolated in 1v1 situations against dangerous attackers, it’s important to defend aggressively when deployed in that spot, but Utvik has tended to drop back when faced with an opponent in those iso matchups.
In this game, Utvik’s other wide centre back partner, Tristan Blackmon, offered a blueprint of what instead needs to be done in those battles – he was excellent defensively, using his aggression to his advantage all game long, doing well to frustrate RSL with several good tackles and physical play in 1v1 situations.
With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see whether Utvik retains his spot now heading into the playoffs. At the moment, it looks like the Whitecaps back three is at its best when they have the aggression of Mathías Laborda and Blackmon flanking Ranko Veselinovic in the middle, as teams have started to hone in on Utvik’s passive defending, and that’s been shown over this stretch. – Alex
A Young Keeper
As Vancouver has struggled down the stretch this year, there have been calls to see more and more of Vancouver’s next up and coming keeper, Isaac Boehmer.
These have been well justified too, as the youngster led the Whitecaps to a Canadian Championship title, with a five star-showing in the critical final match, including multiple clutch penalty saves.
Though Boehmer has seen very little action outside that competition, some have suggested, myself included, that Boehmer could take over between the sticks next season from Yohei Takaoka, especially with the Japanese keeper no longer under a guaranteed contract come 2025.
In this match at Salt Lake, I think we saw both the potential benefits, as well as the pitfalls, of that plan.
Inside the first minute, we saw Boehmer come out aggressively, taking all the time and space away from one of MLS’ most dangerous scorers, avoiding another critical early goal against. I don’t think that’s something you see from Yohei Takaoka.
Equally, you see the youngster lunge easily across his goal, absorb driven shots, and manage rebounds in a way Takaoka really struggles to do.
Yet, there are also some notable downsides. Boehmer is clearly not the same player with the ball at his feet as Takaoka. His ability to play the ball along the floor in buildup, as well as picking out players at the halfway line, is clearly a step below.
Additionally, there’s still that experience factor that’s lacking at times. Boehmer had all the tools to deal with RSL’s second goal comfortably. That being said, you could almost see the panic take over as Boehmer misjudged the ball. I’m confident he’ll get to a point where he no longer makes those mistakes, but there are still growing pains to be had.
Ultimately, I think that if the Whitecaps want to win an MLS Cup, it makes more sense to do it with a young, cheap, domestic keeper than it does to do so with a league average, well compensated, international. That’s just my two cents. But make no mistake about it – there’s benefits and drawbacks to both those choices. -Sam
Looking Ahead (Ugh)
This is pretty much the worst-case scenario for the Whitecaps from here on out.
They have to play on the road mid-week against Portland. Then, if they are lucky enough to make it through that gauntlet, they are rewarded with their good ol’ friends LAFC once more in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
As much as making the top four in the West was about securing more home playoff dates, it was clearly bigger than that for Vancouver.
A knock-on effect of getting into that kind of position had other benefits as well. First, you avoid a crazy condensed schedule that the play-in creates. And second, you stay far away from the two teams you’re probably most fearful of playing in the first round: LAFC and the LA Galaxy.
Mission failed on both counts.
Now, I’m not breaking news by saying that this last month of the MLS regular season for Vancouver has been an unmitigated disaster. But the good news is that none of that really matters anymore. All that’s important is what lies in front of them.
As much as regular season results matter, a lot can change come playoff time. St. Louis learned that the hard way last year. The same can be said for Vancouver but in the inverse. If the Whitecaps win their next two matches, they’ll be in the driver’s seat to progress to the second round of the MLS playoffs, that’s just how quickly things can turn.
Obviously, the Whitecaps are going to have to play some better games in order to make that happen. There’s no more time for squad rotation or an eye on the bigger picture. It’ll be winner take all in Portland on Wednesday night, so hopefully we see all that the 2024 Vancouver Whitecaps have left to offer. -Sam
Nice to see RSL player Brown having a solid game. According to the google ranking Brown had the 2nd highest ranking from both teams. We let him go for nothing. Of all the players who have replaced him, Bovalina, Ocampo, Raposo, Laborda, Berhalter, Schöpf and Utvik, none are as fast, tough in the tackle or as versatile as Brown. The caps didn’t get any stronger by letting him go, the player who could defend our right flank
Brown is a fullback (perhaps obviously), playing in that role in a back-four is to his strengths and he’s well suited to it. Good on RSL for making the move for him.
I think Brown is an average defender, at times good and at times, poor. But he is best suited in a back-four, and that isn’t going to happen under Sartini more than rarely. The team needed to move him on last off-season or last summer window to maximise return on a player that simply didn’t fit here and often played poorly or didn’t contribute much in a wingback role (or a right CB in a back-three role). The team isn’t worse letting a player not suited to the tactical approach move on, it’s worse for not replacing that player with one that is.
Well, having the 2nd highest rating of any player from both teams I guess means nothing. It certainly doesn’t reflect Brown as a poor defender. In Brown’s last few games as a whitecap he also had high ratings, and that was playing as a wingback. He has what the others don’t have: pace and a degree of physicality. I can only guess at this but I’d say opposing attackers would be more wary of a 1v1 against Brown than any of our other defenders. Pace is very important in soccer and it’s something the caps sre only average at best. Of all our defenders only Blackmon has decent pace and this is a huge problem that our opponents in the 2nd half of the season have figured out and are well prepared to exploit. I’d select Brown as a right wingback against Portland hands down. All of our other options have defensive limitations as we’ve seen over the last 6-8 games. Who would you start as right wingback?
Fair enough. Sartini always seemed to not like the way Brown played. He wasn’t treated as poorly as MDS and Theo Bair but there was something there in Sartini’s mind. Of course this raises questions about Sartini’s assessment of players, for example, Raposo is the best wingback in Canada. If I was coaching for this playoff game I’d be choosing between Ahmed (the attacking option) and if we had Brown (the defending option). If Sartini chooses the defensive option it’s probably Laborda in front of Utvik. Or if Sartini plays Laborda instead of Utvik then we haven’t gained anything as Laborda lacks pace and struggles with 1v1 depending out on the flank. It’s going to be interesting seeing the starting 11. Especially who starts in goal. Boehmer is better at saving penalties and that’s how this game could be decided
@colsmith – On the current roster, I’d not start any of the apparent options at wingback on either side, as none of them are suited to it imo. And therein lies my point, in part, the squad needs four capable wingbacks and I don’t think it has any.
The penalty was not verified by var. the referee viewed the foul and stuck with his call a pk. As usual, the flank was wide open giving the RSL attacker tons of time and space to drive into the caps penalty area and cut inside delivering a blistering shot. Unless Sartini makes some tactical changes we’ll be seeing this over and over on Wednesday night.
Picault has cooled off but if it weren’t for his contribtions with goals and assists, the Caps wouldn’t be in the playoffs.
When you play a system where your two regular central mids, Cubas (1 assist in 24 games) and especially Vite (1 goal and 1 assist in 28 matches) clearly produce little offensively, then you need your wingbacks to deliver. Let’s see: Raposo has in 30 appearances 3 goals and 4 assists, but he is not viewed as a starter; Adekugbe, injury hampered until now, has 1 goal and 2 assists in 16 appearances (unfortunately, he eats up over $900 k per year in cap hit), while the heralded Ahmed has produced 1 goal (no assists) in 22 appearances, granted also limited by durability issues. Considering the other guys who have also moonlighted at wingback (Berhalter the best offensive contributor of that group), you have more muted offence in a position where you need to pose a consistent threat to take the pressure off Gauld.
Once Sartini realized that Kreilach was way too slow to play his forward press and counter, he rightly sent him to the sidelines in favour of Fafa, and then injuries have hampered him from being a regular sub. He has been a poor pick up. Utvik is too slow, agreed, but Laborda is prone to dumb mistakes and while Blackmon may have had a good game last night, he has been way too inconsistent and is a ball watcher lacking situational awareness when the opponent in his marking zone does not have the ball.
Schopf needs to go but I fear they simply signed the Scottish Schopf as his replacement and I think he is going to be a total bust here. But I think the biggest issue is that this base 3-4-2-1 formation has run its course: there is no more upside with the players available and though they might smash and grab a win in Portland, that’s as far as it goes and that’s not good enough for upper management to keep the flamboyant Italian in place. He has run his course, too.
Agree 10
0%
YALSS. Yet Another Late Season Slide. Sigh.
totally agree with your take on the goalie situation for 2025– Takaoka is out of contract this december 31, and the Caps signed Boehmer to a 2 year contract- so it seems Axel and the Club are ready to give the sticks job to Isaac
and Utvik is penalized by his head coach who places Bjorn him at the mercy of faster opponents
kreilach will be gone, takaoka will be gone and a few other bench subs also- picault will be 34 and maybe the long season and multiple games caused his lag in the lest 2 months- a good sub to keep
maybe the head coach who gets too dramatic during/after a game and looses perspective and wont make adjustments as needed??
Utvik is too slow for this league. Period. His distribution tonight was lacking as well. He backs off a dribbling opponent because he knows he lacks speed.