VANCOUVER—After a two-week layoff, the Vancouver Whitecaps will take on FC Dallas at home on Saturday evening in the aftermath of what has been a difficult week for the Major League Soccer club.
The team will be without right fullback Sheanon Williams, who was arrested and charged with assault in an alleged domestic incident on Thursday. The 27-year-old has been suspended indefinitely by MLS.
Williams’s arrest was the second disturbing incident involving the Whitecaps in recent days. Two members of the team’s youth residency program were charged with sexual assault last week. The incident in question took place at the team’s training facility in Burnaby.
Vancouver will also be without defender Kendall Waston and midfielder Christian Bolanos, both of whom were injured while away on international duty with Costa Rica. Waston, who is in the midst of a fantastic season, suffered a hip injury, while Bolanos, who has also been vital, injured his shoulder. Both are expected to be out a few weeks.
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Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson, who did not address the Williams incident because the team made an announcement after Friday’s training session, said earlier this week that he’s expecting a “big game” from Dallas.
Dallas (6-3-5) are currently fourth in the Western Conference, while the ’Caps (6-6-1) sit fifth. Vancouver has a game in hand, and could gain ground in a tight race. The top four teams in the West are separated by just four points.
“I don’t look at the table too much, to be honest,” Robinson said. “I don’t look at the games in hand, because it’s irrelevant if you don’t win those games.”
Waston and Bolanos join Yordy Reyna, Nicolas Mezquida, Christian Dean, Brett Levis and David Edgar on the injured list. Bernie Ibini and Erik Hurtado are questionable.
Robinson said he could opt to use either Andrew Jacobson, Cole Seiler or Marcel de Jong in central defence in place of Waston.
Seiler has made two MLS appearances, both of them starts, since being selected 16th overall by Vancouver in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. He has not seen MLS action this season. De Jong played a full 90 minutes in Canada’s 2–1 victory over Curacao in a friendly in Montreal earlier this week.
At right fullback, Robinson could opt to start Jake Nerwinski, whom the Whitecaps drafted seventh overall this year. The 22-year-old has made two appearances in his debut season, both of them starts.
Saturday’s contest could see the first start from Brek Shea since he suffered a knock in April. Shea has made five appearances in his return from injury, though he has not been part of the starting XI.
Whichever players Robinson selects, he’ll likely have to shift his team out of the 4-1-4-1 formation that has become the team’s standard in recent months.
“When you get into a rhythm it’s easy,” Robinson said of the team’s good run of form before the two-week break. “I keep saying I don’t change the system because I need to change it, or the personnel. It sometimes is based upon injuries, and unfortunately that is the case now.”
The team is playing with confidence, Robinson added. The same is likely true of Dallas, who are coming off a 2–1 win over Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup match.
But Robinson expressed confidence that his group would put on a strong performance.
“We always have good games against Dallas,” he said.
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