The Vancouver Whitecaps are in fantastic form heading into the playoffs, sitting atop the MLS Western Conference standings with just one match left in the regular season.
Jesper Sørensen’s club hasn’t lost a match in over two months.
A Whitecaps win or a draw versus FC Dallas at BC Place on Saturday will lock up the top spot in the West regardless of what San Diego does against Portland. The only way Vancouver can slip to second spot is if they lose to Dallas and San Diego picks up three points.
Playoff opponent
If the Whitecaps clinch top spot in the West, there is a strong chance they’ll play Game 1 of their first-round best-of-three series at BC Place on Sunday, Oct. 26 or Monday, Oct. 27. This would allow the winner of the 8 vs 9 play-in match an extra day of rest following their midweek match.
@MLS/X
Possible opponents include FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, Colorado, or San Jose. The first tiebreaker for playoff seeding is wins, followed by goal differential.
The Whitecaps have a combined record of 5-2-0 versus those four teams.
It’s worth noting that if a first-round playoff match is tied after 90 minutes, it will go directly to penalties to decide the match winner.
Whitecaps being careful with Gauld
Whitecaps captain Ryan Gauld worked out in the gym but did not train on the pitch with his teammates on Thursday. Gauld played 24 minutes off the bench on Saturday against Orlando and picked up an assist on Thomas Müller’s match-winner in stoppage time.
“We’re still precautious with his knee,” Sørensen told reporters when asked about Gauld’s absence from training. “It was a tough game for him. He twisted something around our first goal. He’s been training the first couple days [this week] and now we take the day off, and then tomorrow he should be ready to go on the pitch and be ready for Saturday.”
Eagle-eyed Whitecaps fans were not the only ones to notice a hobble from Gauld when he got up after Nelson Pierre’s goal on Saturday.
“I’ve hobbled in a lot of games,” Gauld told reporters following training on Tuesday, which he participated in fully. “It’s just the way the ball came back to me, a bit of an awkward position. No, the knee is fine.”
Nelson Pierre with the equalizer and his first MLS GOAL 🤩🔥#VWFC | #ORLvVAN pic.twitter.com/vVUev9CXXg
— X – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 12, 2025
Sørensen and his staff are taking a long-term view with Gauld. It’s been a challenging season for Gauld, and there’s still an abundance of caution with his knee.
“I don’t know how concerned fans should be,” Sørensen said. “We’re always concerned about all our players, but yes, I would say that it would be normal when you’ve been out for such a long time and then you start playing games.
“We don’t want setbacks for Ryan. We don’t want larger setbacks. We’re at a point where we’re also extra precautious because one thing is the remainder of the season, and another thing is also we want to start off fresh for the season next yea,r and we don’t want something bad to happen to Ryan.”
Sørensen for coach of the year?
Jesper Sørensen is expected to be among the candidates for MLS coach of the year. The Danish manager has exceeded expectations in his first year in MLS. San Diego’s Mikey Varas and Philadelphia Union coach Bradley Carnell are also thought to be in the running.
Carnell was asked which MLS coach has impressed him the most. The coach of the team that beat Philadelphia 7-0 last month was a surprise omission from Carnell’s list.
Bradley Carnell on which MLS coach has impressed him most 👀 pic.twitter.com/8o8UWOHpHP
— MLS on Air (@MLSonAir) October 14, 2025
“No, I haven’t seen that,” Sørensen said when asked about Carnell’s comments. “I would say that I also have a vote, and I think that Bradley Carnell is a very good candidate. I think that they’ve done very well throughout the season. That would be a good candidate with Mikey Varas in San Diego. My colleague Javier Mascherano also did a great job. I think definitely Bradley Carnell is one of the guys that I think has done a very good job.”
Müller on ice
Müller really seems to be enjoying the local Vancouver sporting scene.
After being spotted at the Toronto Raptors preseason game at Rogers Arena last week, Müller took in his second Vancouver Canucks game.
Müller and Sebastian Berhalter were front and centre when the Vancouver Canucks played St. Louis on Monday. Muller, Berhalter, Gauld, and Tate Johnson all stepped on the ice after the game, delivering their best skating and stick-handling impersonations.
#Canucks would have to work with him on his skating, but worth a look at centre IMO
🎥: @WhitecapsFC pic.twitter.com/6pYZEVBdsu
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) October 14, 2025
This was the second Canucks game that Müller has attended since moving to Vancouver. As a native of Florida, Johnson grew up cheering for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Steven Stamkos. The Whitecaps rookie learned how to skate when he was living in Indiana.
MLS Decision Day is set for Saturday, with the Whitecaps hosting FC Dallas at BC Place. The match begins at 6 p.m. PDT. Tickets appear to be in short supply, with another lower-bowl sellout likely.
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