Homeless Whitecaps have do-or-die playoff game in Portland on Wednesday
The newly-homeless Vancouver Whitecaps have a do-or-die playoff matchup against the Portland Timbers this week.
Following the end of the MLS regular season on Saturday, the Whitecaps finished as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, setting up a wild card match against the ninth-seed Timbers on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.
The Whitecaps, being the higher-seed, were supposed to be the home team for that game but a scheduling conflict at BC Place has left them without a Vancouver pitch to play on. Instead, the team will travel south to play the game in Portland at Providence Park.
Next up, #MLSCupPlayoffs Wild Card Match ⤵️
🆚 @TimbersFC
🗓️ Wed, October 23 @ 7:30pm
🏟️ Providence ParkWatch live on @TSN_Sports or for FREE on #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV 📺#VWFC | #PORvVAN
— X – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) October 20, 2024
The Whitecaps have split the season series with the Timbers this season, recording a win, loss, and draw in the three matches against each other. Not having home-pitch advantage will make things a bit more difficult for the Whitecaps, but the team does have a winning record of 7-6-4 on the road this season.
We got a preview of this wild-card matchup late last month as the Timbers came to Vancouver and played to a 1-1 draw. Whitecaps striker Brian White notched the first goal early in that game before Portland’s Jonathan Rodriguez knotted things up just before half-time.
A spot in the MLS playoff bracket is on the line for the Whitecaps in this single-elimination game. The winner will go on to face top-ranked LAFC in a best-of-three series, which would see a match at BC Place. Vancouver has played LAFC three times this season, losing both of the regular-season matchups but taking home a 2-2 victory on penalties during their Leagues Cup matchup in July.
Most recently, the Whitecaps dropped a 2-1 decision to LAFC last week.
If Vancouver wants a rematch with the top team in the West, they will first have to deal with the Timbers. Gametime in Portland is set for Wednesday night at 7:30 pm PT.