Sporting Kansas City will host the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Saturday evening at Sporting Park. The match will kick off at 8 p.m. CT with pregame coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT on 38 the Spot and SCKTV across the Midwest. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Office on Saturday.
To preview the match, we spoke with Whitecaps broadcaster Peter Schaad who will be calling the match for TSN:
Jonathan Kaplan: In his second year as head coach, Carl Robinson has had his side toward the top of the Western Conference all year. What's been the key to the team's success this year?
Peter Schaad: The key has been his value for money signings, and the competition within the team for starting spots. As much as the boys love one another’s company, they still kick lumps out of each other in training. Everyone wants to start. Not too many people around MLS would argue that the Whitecaps have one of the most balanced and deep squads in the league. That comes down to astute signings, an awful lot of scouting and reference checks.
JK: Vancouver are the only team with more road wins than home wins. What makes the team so successful away from BC Place?
PS: The away record has surprised everyone in a city where road wins have been traditionally so hard to come by. A large part of this year’s success has come from the experience that many of the squad have gleaned over the last year-and-a-half. The players prepare better, have an excellent medical staff, and they know what to expect. The ‘Caps have also shown a flexibility away from BC Place, that includes a counter-attacking game which they’re set up nicely for, and a high-press game like their recent win in Seattle.
JK: Saturday will be the fifth of eight games for Vancouver in August, how much has Robinson rotated the squad recently and how fresh is the team coming into Saturday?
PS: Carl had a 100% squad rotation for the CONCACAF Champions league game with Seattle, and just over a 50% change in midweek at Montreal for the Amway Canadian Championship final. In both cup competitions, the Whitecaps drew, but could have very easily won...even if their opponents were also not at full strength. The faith Robinson has shown in his young players is a key to the first question, of how the Whitecaps have remained so strong even now through mid-August. The pressure for place comes from below, the young ones...rather that from above...through signing older more established players. The team that comes into Sporting Park on Saturday should be fresh as a daisy, especially the attacking group.
JK: What's one matchup you will be watching for on Saturday?
PS: After Soni Mustivar’s performance in Vancouver a few weeks ago, in which he set the standard for disrupting Vancouver, I’d have to say whichever player matches up with the Haitian. Granted, he had Roger Espinoza along side him and the Honduran was also excellent, but it was still an eye-opening performance from a player not many people had heard of. I expect to see Nicholas Mezquida getting very well-acquainted with Musitivar unless the boss goes with Pedro Morales, which could also be intriguing.
JK: What are your expectations for the match?
PS: I expect the Whitecaps to cause problems. The large South American contingent enjoys playing in the heat, and every Whitecap player loves the kind of atmosphere that they’ll be greeted with in Kansas City. I’ll be interested to see how Peter Vermes lines up his troops given the midweek game with RSL. With 3 games in hand on Vancouver, I’d expect the Sporting coach would love to close the gap a little. I should point out though, that the Whitecaps have busted long home unbeaten streaks within the last year. They stopped Portland last season, and then ended the Galaxy’s impressive run at StubHub, before going to New England and snuffing out the Revolution's league-best home streak.
