WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Austin FC is riding high after their most complete match of the season, defeating the LA Galaxy 2-0 with goals from Diego Rubio and Jadier Obrian. This marks four wins in their last five matches and has jumped Austin into the middle of an always compact Western Conference playoff picture. This is the best stretch of results since the summer of 2022 when Austin FC gained 17 points in 7 matches between June 18 and July 16.
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin FC is 1-1-4 (W-D-L) against Vancouver all-time including 0-0-3 at BC Place. Last season the Whitecaps won 2-1 after scoring in 28 seconds.
Recent Matches:
Vancouver drew 1-1 with the New York Red Bulls last Saturday. They’re currently 2-1-2 at home on the season and sit in third place in the Western Conference.
Players to Watch:
Fafá Picault
The MLS journeyman came to Vancouver this offseason to provide speed up front after Designated Player Sergio Cordova departed. He already has three goals on the season but is currently dealing with a back injury that has limited his field time. Whether or not he’s fully fit or available makes a big difference in how Vancouver is able to play and attack Austin.
Brian White
“The most irreplaceable player on this squad” according to Manager Vanni Sartini is off to a strong start in 2024 with 5 goals overall and a goal in each of Vancouver’s last four matches including this lovely backheel last weekend against his former club. Keeping aware of him both on and off the ball will be a challenge for Julio Cascante and Brandon Hines-Ike.
Tristan Blackmon
Brought in from LAFC in 2022 Blackmon has helped to solidify Vancouver’s backline. In Vanni Sartini’s system, he plays Left CB and has to provide cover when their left wing-back (typically Ali Ahmed) stays forward to help build the attack. Austin will seek to isolate their wingers (Obrian, Emiliano Rigoni) against Blackmon to stretch their defense horizontally.
Keys to the Match:
Road Strategy
This season we’ve seen Austin FC play with very different setups depending on Home vs. Away. In their four away matches (1-1-2, 4 pts) they’ve only accumulated 1.3 xG with 6 shots on target (0.8 xG and 4 shots on target against Houston skew those numbers). In five home matches, they have 6.7 xG on 19 shots on target. They currently only have one goal scored away this season and they’ll need to put something up on the scoreboard to get a result against a Vancouver side that has only been shut out in three of their last 25 home matches dating back to the beginning of 2023. With Dani Perreira set to miss the match while resolving his Immigration status in Venezuela, expect an even more defensive posture with Jhohan Valencia starting.
Turf
BC Place, shared home of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the BC Lions of the CFL is a retractable roof stadium that features FIFA ‘2-Star RECOMMENDED playing surface, which is a euphemism for “turf.” They are one of only six MLS teams to play on turf because many players don’t feel as comfortable playing on it, feeling like they experience more fatigue during the match, take longer to recover after the match, and feel like they’re more injury prone. It also plays differently and provides a home-field advantage. It will also be mentioned over and over on the broadcast.
Scheduling
Austin FC is in the midst of a tough part of their schedule based on current opponent form and could add another 3 points before taking on Wooden Spoon contenders FC Dallas on May 11. Considering the middling results against other teams that were struggling to start the season this turnaround has all of us optimistic that this is the beginning of another 2022 run of form before reinforcements come in the summer transfer window. Austin is a team with little depth outside of the defense at the moment and we will see that depth tested as this starts a stretch of seven matches in 28 days.
WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT
