- OKAY LADIES NOW LET’S GET IN FORMATION: Looking at three games in seven days, Head Coach Adrian Heath opted to go a little more conservative as MNUFC headed to Los Angeles to face LAFC. The Loons came out in a 4-3-3, likely aiming to corral their opponents’ dangerous three-man midfield of Jose Cifuentes, Eduard Atuesta and Latif Blessing. While the game was anything but defensive, with plenty of end-to-end action and 26 shots between the teams, MNUFC once again demonstrated its grit by fighting back from a goal down twice to get the road draw and a point. The question now becomes whether Heath rotates the squad again but keeps the same 4-3-3 look, or whether he feels he can go back to something like the usual starting XI in the traditional 4-2-3-1. Like LAFC, Vancouver generally play a 4-3-3, and Minnesota United are perhaps deepest in central midfield — on any given night, Heath can pick from any of Hassani Dotson, Wil Trapp, Jan Gregus, Jacori Hayes and Osvaldo Alonso to put out there. Of course, Vancouver — especially without the likes of forward Lucas Cavallini, defender Cristian Gutierrez and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who are representing Canada in the Gold Cup — do not present the same kind of midfield threat as LAFC. It will likely depend heavily on how the team recovers from Wednesday’s emotional last second win, and thus how close within reach a win is.
- TURN AND FACE THE STRANGE: While the Whitecaps’ season has so far been a struggle, with just 14 points to show from 15 games, the good news for Vancouver is that all of the teams around them near the bottom of the Western Conference are in similar boats. Dallas, San Jose and Austin all have nearly identical 3-7-5 records — Austin has only four draws — and that means whichever team can seize the moment and start to climb can put some quick separation between themselves and their peers. The other good news for the ‘Caps is that this Saturday’s game against MNUFC will be their last at Rio Tinto Stadium before the team returns to Vancouver and BC Place for the remainder of their 2021 home games. Of course, those circumstances could also make this Saturday’s game a double-edged sword. While the team has won a respectable three games at the RioT, they’ve also lost three, so it’s not as if their home away from home has provided that much of an advantage. The prospect of their final game there could provide either an emotional lift or a letdown. Given all of that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Heath and his team aiming to grab the game early to take advantage of a heretofore underperforming Whitecaps side in a transitional phase.
- LOD MONEY DON’T WANT EVERYTHING HE WANTS IT ALL: Robin Lod has been demonstrating a real knack for coming up big in the clutch recently. He leads the team in goals with four, and three of those goals have come after the 80th minute this season. But if you dig in, his capabilities in high leverage moments have been on display for a while. Since 2019, he’s scored 46.7% of his goals after the 75th minute, and that’s a higher percentage than any other player in MLS with at least 15 goals. Upon joining the team that year, the immediate impression was of a player who brought a little more of a stable, consistent approach to playing in the attacking midfield, one built on good decision making and a willingness to defend from the front. He might not have seemed as dynamic an attacker as Kevin Molino or some of the other wingers the team have used, but it’s clear at this point that he knows when to pour it on and how to do what’s necessary to get a result. His positional flexibility continues to be a huge asset for the team, as having him start on the right wing can allow him to shift to the forward position, or even vice versa. It allows Heath to change the complexion of the team with one sub instead of two, and that’s a tremendous asset when it comes to presenting opposing defenses with multiple looks while keeping options on the bench at other positions on the field.
