VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC are set to take on Sporting Kansas City at 6 p.m. PT at BC Place (TSN1 and TSN 1040).
Here are some news and notes on Vancouver’s starting lineup.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 33.Steven Beitashour, 4.Kendall Waston, 26.Tim Parker, 2.Jordan Harvey; 15.Matías Laba, 28.Gershon Koffie; 13.Cristian Techera, 7.Mauro Rosales, 23.Kekuta Manneh; 29.Octavio Rivero
Substitutes
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 9.Nicolás Mezquida, 22.Christian Dean, 20.Deybi Flores, 19.Erik Hurtado, 38.Kianz Froese, 88.Robert Earnshaw
NOTES
Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson makes three changes to his side from last weekend at Colorado Rapids. Centre back Tim Parker replaces an injured Pa-Modou Kah (right calf strain), midfielder Matías Laba is in for Deybi Flores, and Octavio Rivero replaces striker Darren Mattocks, who is away with Jamaica at the Gold Cup.
In 22 matches this year, including the Amway Canadian Championship, Robinson has now used 22 different starting XIs. Robinson’s XI today has an average age of 26 years, three months, and 15 days. Six players are 23 or younger.
Seven different birth countries are represented in the starters: Argentina (x2), Costa Rica, Denmark, The Gambia, Ghana, United States (x3), and Uruguay (x2).
INJURY UPDATES
On the bench, striker Robert Earnshaw returns to the 18 after missing the last three matches with a right calf strain.
Pedro Morales misses his fourth consecutive match with a left calf strain, centre back Pa-Modou Kah is out with a right calf strain suffered last week in Colorado, and left back Sam Adekugbe misses his 10th match, including ACC, with a right ankle sprain.
OTHER
Goalkeeper David Ousted makes his 68th consecutive MLS start, including playoffs. The 30-year-old Dane is second only to New York Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles (99) in consecutive MLS matches. This season, Ousted is first in MLS in wins (10), tied for third in shutouts (7), and tied for fourth in goals-against average (1.00).
Right back Steven Beitashour makes his 130th start in MLS regular season action. The 28-year-old native of San Jose, California has started five previous matches against Sporting KC, recording two assists. Beitashour is tied for the team lead in assists (4) and tied for second most by a defender in the league. He is also second on the team, and tied for 17th in the league, in interceptions (56).
Centre back Kendall Waston is making his 31st start, including MLS Cup Playoffs and ACC, for Whitecaps FC. The towering Costa Rican leads the league in clearances with 140 (101 of them are headed clearances, which is also the most in MLS).
Rookie centre back Tim Parker makes his fourth MLS start and second at centre back. The 22-year-old defender also started both of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal legs at centre back, as well as seven matches in USL with WFC2.
Left back Jordan Harvey makes his 101st MLS regular season start for WFC, second only to Koffie (104), and 188th in league play. This will be the Californian’s 11th straight MLS start.
Midfielder Gershon Koffie makes his 104th MLS regular season start today. The 23-year-old native of Koforidua, Ghana, who is a permanent resident of Canada, joined the club in September 2010 and has made 139 first team appearances for WFC in all competitions.
Midfielder Matías Laba is making his 66th MLS regular season start tonight, his 49th with WFC. The 23-year-old from Villa Raffo, Argentina is second in MLS with 78 tackles won. He also has the second best passing accuracy on the team (84.26 per cent – Teibert is second in the league at 89.12).
Winger Cristian Techera makes his fifth straight MLS start and seventh on the season. The 23-year-old native of Quebracho, Uruguay has made the scoresheet in two of his last three matches with an assist at NYRB and goal at New England.
Midfielder Mauro Rosales makes his 13th appearance of the season and 11th start. This will be his fifth start, and third straight, at the attacking midfielder position. Rosales has one goal and two assists in four career matches against Sporting KC.
Winger Kekuta Manneh makes his 14th MLS regular season start of the season, which is already a career-high. The 20-year-old has scored in three of his last four matches.
Striker Octavio Rivero has started all but two MLS regular season matches so far and is behind only Ousted and Waston in minutes played with 1,537. Rivero leads the team in goals scored with seven and is third on the team in assists (3).
