Running with the western wolves: Can the Caps compete with the MLS elite?

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With a rare bye in MLS play, Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had some extra time last weekend to scoreboard-watch and size up the Western Conference.

 

And through one-third of the season, his conclusion is that it’s even tougher than he thought it was going to be.

 

The Portland Timbers, who topped the West last year, are bottom with one win. And perennial MLS Cup contenders, the L.A. Galaxy, are beneath the playoff line, albeit with games in hand.

 

Everyone expects L.A. to be top-three when it’s all said and done, much like they expect the same from Real Salt Lake, and from this week’s opponent, the Seattle Sounders, who are tops in MLS with eight wins and visit B.C. Place on Saturday (4 p.m., TSN2, TEAM 1410).

 

“There’s going to be similar teams that are there every year, you know that,” said Robinson. “What we’ve got to do, and we’re in the early process of it, is make sure we’ll be one of them teams that’s always there.

 

“We’ve had a good start, but it’s only the start.”

 

Few Caps fans will need to be reminded of that point, given how the team has tanked down the stretch the last two seasons.

 

But this certainly feels like a group that’s going to grow as the season goes on, as foreign players fully settle and partnerships form.

 

The Caps are 4-2-4 through 10 games. That’s good for fourth place in a conference where there aren’t any freebies. Chivas still struggles but they’re no longer a punchline. And slumping San Jose remains tough to beat at Buck Shaw Stadium.

 

With a win at the Dome on Saturday, the Caps will be off to their best 11-game start since joining MLS in 2011. It would mark a third-straight MLS victory and they’d be unbeaten in five.

 

But more importantly it would come against Seattle, a team that represents what the Caps are striving for.

 

Joshua Mayers noted at the Seattle Times that since jumping to MLS in 2009, the Sounders have more points (291) than anyone. Only L.A. clips them on points-per-game over those five-plus seasons.

 

As Robinson said, the goal is to be talked about in the same way fans and pundits talk about the Sounders and Galaxy and RSL. And the only way that’s going to happen is if the Caps routinely go toe-to-toe with these guys and win their share.

 

The Caps had their moments in a 1-0 road loss and 2-2 home tie with L.A. in mid-April. They ended that month with a stunning late comeback at Salt Lake, when Sebastian Fernandez rescued a 2-2 tie four minutes into injury time.

 

Now they have a great chance to make a statement against a Seattle team that’s top of the table but without forward Clint Dempsey and defender DeAndre Yedlin, both named to the extended U.S. World Cup squad. Defender Brad Evans may also join them on the national team.

 

“They’re missing players, I know that, but it’s a derby game for us,” said Robinson. “It’s a very important match.

 

“They’re nine points ahead of us (the Caps have two games in hand) and arguably they’re the best team at the moment. But we’re at home, I know our supporters will be behind us, and I’ll make sure the guys are right up for it, because it’s a great test for us after 10 games to see where we are.”

 

If there was a mental canyon to cross against their I-5 rivals, the Caps did that under Martin Rennie last season when they claimed the Cascadia Cup.

 

Former Caps goalkeeper Brad Knighton was outstanding in a 2-0 home win over Seattle last July. Then there was Vancouver’s shocking 4-1 win at CenturyLink Field in October when, in front of 39,000 fans, Kekuta Manneh became the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick.

 

“Now we know we can do it,” said Caps’ left-back Jordan Harvey.

 

With Dempsey out, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid could again start the hulking Kenny Cooper up front to battle Andy O’Brien and Jay DeMerit.

 

Jalil Anibaba, a 2011 first-round pick of Chicago’s, filled in for Yedlin last week, while experienced Costa Rican fullback Leo Gonzalez could wind up replacing Evans.

 

Robinson is without right-back Steven Beitashour, who is part of Iran’s squad, but veteran midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker can comfortably slot in there. Out of position, he was excellent against Toronto last week.

 

And up front, converted winger Erik Hurtado has taken full advantage of Darren Mattocks’ hamstring injury and Kenny Miller’s departure.

 

Improved depth has been a big part of the Caps’ early success this season.

 

Improved quality, too, especially with the addition of Matias Laba and Pedro Morales to the midfield.

 

And according to a handful of players, chemistry has played a major role.

 

“There’s something special we have in this locker-room that we haven’t had in years past,” midfielder Russell  Teibert said last week.

 

Morales has said it’s the best locker-room he’s been in. So has Omar Salgado.

 

Harvey credited the positive start to “team chemistry and really working hard for one another.

 

“You’re starting to see the potential of this group,” he said.

 

Through 10 games, the Caps are pleased. But they are far from satisfied.

 

By Saturday night, they could be six points back of first-place Seattle with two games in hand. Or they could be 12 points adrift of top spot.

 

EXTRA TIME: Darren Mattocks has obtained his U.S. green card so the Whitecaps’ Jamaican forward will no longer take up an international roster spot. Combined with Kenny Miller’s recent departure, the Caps now have two international roster spots free for this season. The international transfer window opens July 9.

 

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