VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4W-1L-1D) are set to take on San Jose Earthquakes (2W-3L-0D) at 7:30 p.m. PT at sparkling new Avaya Stadium (TSN2 and TSN 1410 radio).
Here’s the full story on Vancouver’s starting lineup.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 4-2-3-1
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 4.Kendall Waston, 44.Pa-Modou Kah, 2.Jordan Harvey; 15.Matías Laba, 20.Deybi Flores; 11. Darren Mattocks, 77.Pedro Morales, 23.Kekuta Manneh; 29.Octavio Rivero
Substitutes
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 3.Sam Adekugbe, 9.Nicolás Mezquida, 19. Erik Hurtado, 26.Tim Parker, 31.Russell Teibert, 38.Kianz Froese
NOTES:
With the club’s first appearance at San Jose Earthquake’s new Avaya Stadium, WFC head coach Carl Robinson makes four changes to his starting XI from last Wednesday against Crew SC with centre back Pa-Modou Kah in for an injured Diego Rodríguez (right quad sprain), left back Jordan Harvey in for Sam Adekugbe, winger Kekuta Manneh in for Nicolás Mezquida (Mattocks moves to RW), and 18-year old midfielder Deybi Flores making his first MLS start in for Russell Teibert.
Robinson’s XI will include a mix of youth and experience – including a veteran backline – with five players 24 or under, three players in their late 20’s, and three 30+ year olds.Nine different birth countries (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Honduras, Gambia (x2), Jamaica, United States (x2), and Uruguay) are represented in the starters.
The starting XI also includes eight returning players from 2014, as well as newcomers Pa-Modou Kah, Young Designated Player Octavio Rivero, and Honduran midfielder Deybi Flores.
Keeper David Ousted will be making his 55th consecutive MLS start, including playoffs, with the club. In MLS action, Ousted is second only to New York Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles (84) in consecutive matches. Ousted is first in keeper wins and tied for second in shutouts with three.
A former San Jose Earthquake from 2010 to 2013, right back Steven Beitashour makes his 121 MLS regular season appearance, including 120 starts. During his four seasons in his hometown, Beitashour made 87 regular season starts, scored two goals, added 16 assists.
Centre back Kendall Waston is making his 16th start in MLS regular season play. Outside of his suspension for yellow card accumulation on October 18 at San Jose, Waston has played the full 90 in every match since his first start for WFC on August 30 against Portland.
Experienced left back Jordan Harvey – a native of Mission Viejo, CA, making his 191st MLS regular season appearance – factors back into the XI, making his second start of the season since the club’s home opener on March 7 versus Toronto FC.
Central midfielder Matías Laba is making his 54th MLS regular season start tonight, his 38th with WFC. The defensive midfielder earned MLS Team of the Week Honours in week three.
Laba’s partner in the middle, Deybi Flores makes his first start and third appearance for WFC. The six-foot, 18-year-old Honduran, who was acquired by Whitecaps FC in February 2015, started nine times in 12 appearances with Club Deportivo Montagua in Honduran Liga Nacional Flores, played 778 minutes and helped his club claim the league championship during the 2014-15 Apertura season. The Honduran international helped his country qualify for the 2015 U-20 FIFA World Cup after the team finished second in Group B of the 2015 U-20 CONCACAF Championships. During the tournament Flores, started all five of his appearances playing all 450 minutes of action.
Winger Kekuta Manneh is making his 55th MLS regular season appearance and his 24th start after assisting on the game-tying goal in Wednesday 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew SC. Prior to that match, Manneh scored his first goal on the season – the match winner – in a 2-0 win against LA Galaxy on April 4.
Attacking midfielder Pedro Morales will be making his 35th MLS regular season start for WFC. Prior to Wednesday’s match, Morales had recorded game-winning assists in three straight matches.
Winger/striker Darren Mattocks is making his second start of 2015 and 45th in MLS regular season action. Last Wednesday, in his first start of the season, the Jamaican international set-up Vancouver’s first goal against Crew SC with a quick throw-in to Octavio Rivero and scored the equalizer in the second half.
MLS Player of the Month for March striker Octavio Rivero continued his fine form with a goal last Wednesday against Columbus Crew SC. He leads MLS in goals (5), tied for the most game-winning goals (2) and leads shots on goal (13), and tied for the lead in shots (23).
Rookie defender Tim Parker is included in the 18 for the fourth time this season. Parker was drafted 13th overall by WFC in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
Whitecaps FC have an eight-game undefeated streak versus the Quakes over the past three seasons, with draws on four of their five visits to San Jose. The away team has never won in the all-time series.
The Blue and White are undefeated in five consecutive matches, and are first overall in Major League Soccer with 13 points in six matches.
