3 storylines for Saturday's Whitecaps FC match vs. Chicago Fire

After falling 3-1 to Toronto FC in their season opener, Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be looking to “set the record straight” on Saturday afternoon when they visit Chicago Fire in their first road match of 2015.

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Match Day: Saturday, March 14

Kickoff: 3 p.m. PT

Venue: Toyota Park, Chicago

TV: TSN 1/3/4
Radio: TSN 1410

Here’s three storylines to get you set for the match:

Bouncing back

Last weekend’s defeat to Toronto FC marked the first time Whitecaps FC have lost a season opener in MLS. They had a perfect 4W-0L-0D record coming into it.

So how will they respond?

We’ll find out on Saturday, but the ‘Caps made it clear this week that they’re not dwelling on the season-opening defeat. There were some positives (mainly in the first half) and some areas for improvement (mainly in the second half), but it’s time to move on.

“We lost a game,” Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson told reporters this week. “It’s one game. And we move on. We would have liked to have won the game, unfortunately we didn’t. But you don’t turn into a good team overnight and you don’t turn into a bad team overnight. We just need to find our rhythm and groove. And hopefully that will come on Saturday.”

Snapping the streak

Toyota Park hasn’t been kind to Whitecaps FC since they joined MLS in 2011.

The ‘Caps are still searching for their first goal at Chicago’s home grounds – they’ve been held off the scoresheet in three previous matches. That includes a scoreless draw last season.

Can they snap the scoreless streak on Saturday?

New vs. old

No team made more changes than Chicago Fire in the offseason. Their head coach Frank Yallop brought in 13 new players, including Designated Players David Accam, Kennedy Igboananike and Shaun Maloney, and parted ways with 16.

In contrast, only one team made fewer changes than Whitecaps FC, and that was the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy. Robinson brought in six new players, including Young Designated Player Octavio Rivero who scored in his debut last weekend, and parted ways with eight.

Yallop and Robinson, who both took over their respective teams at the beginning of the 2014 season, opted for very different strategies.

It will be interesting to see which one pays off this weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJF6YTSmpkI