Whitecaps FC by the numbers: A look back at March

That’s a wrap on the first month of the 2015 MLS season.

And what a month it was.

After dropping their season opener, Vancouver Whitecaps FC have now won three straight matches – most recently, a 2-1 triumph over Cascadia rival Portland Timbers at BC Place.

Here are a few of the more interesting stats from the month of March.

9

This is the most important stat of them all.

Whitecaps FC claimed nine out of a possible 12 points in the month of March – a new club record in MLS. That puts them second to only FC Dallas, who lead MLS with 10 points.

3

First-year striker Octavio Rivero has scored three goals in his first four MLS matches. The 23-year-old Uruguayan is tied with four other players atop the league’s scoring charts.

Check out his latest strike, which was crowned MLS Goal of the Week.

[youtube id=”5SVB2lUaiPs”]

14,552

That’s how many kilometres the ‘Caps travelled in the month of March. They made a total of six flights over trips to Chicago and Orlando, including a missed flight and an impromptu night in Dallas.

Aside from the month of June, when the ‘Caps have four away matches because of BC Place’s unavailability due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, this was the team’s busiest travel month of the year in terms of regular season competition.

8

Whitecaps FC lead MLS with eight “big chances created,” defined by Opta as “a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range.” The next closest team has five.

Seven different ‘Caps players have created “big chances” for their teammates, but captain Pedro Moralesleads the way with two.

Watch the slow motion video of Morales’ assist on Robert Earnshaw’s game-winning goal againt Portland.