2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season

The 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the Whitecaps' fourth season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of soccer in the United States and Canada.

Season overview

December

December 11, Brad Knighton was traded to the New England Revolution for a conditional 2015 draft pick.
December 18, Corey Hertzog is claimed on re-entry waivers by Seattle Sounders FC.
Carl Robinson became the new head coach on December 16, 2013. Club president Bob Lenarduzzi stated that "there was no deliberate attempt" to "go Latin this season."

January

January 16, On the first day of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft the Vancouver Whitecaps selected Christian Dean with the 3rd overall pick and Andre Lewis with the 7th overall pick. In the 2nd round the Whitecaps selected Mamadou Diof with the 30th overall pick. After the draft it was revealed that Andre Lewis had signed a contract with the New York Cosmos of the NASL and will be on loan to MLS and Vancouver will own his MLS rights.
January 17, Camilo Sanvezzo is sold to Querétaro F.C. of Mexican Liga MX for a reported transfer fee of $2,500,000
January 21, 2014 MLS Superdraft rounds three to five where conducted on this day. Whitecaps drafter Michael Calderon with the 64th pick.
January 27, Whitecaps acquired Steven Beitashour from the San Jose Earthquakes and signed former San Jose player Mehdi Ballouchy to a contract that they claimed in the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft

February

February 5, Whitecaps announce that they have brought in forward Nicolás Mezquida and brought in Sebastián Fernández on loan from Boston River.
February 18, Whitecaps sign goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi
February 26, Whitecaps acquire designated player Matias Laba from Toronto FC for future considerations rumoured to be $2,500,000. In another move the Whitecaps traded Daigo Kobayashi rights to the New England Revolution for a fourth round draft pick.

March

March 5, Whitecaps signed Pedro Morales on a free transfer from La Liga Malaga CF and made him a designated player joining Laba and Kenny Miller as DP's on the team. Also team favourite Matt Watson was traded to Chicago Fire for a 2014 international roster spot.
March 8, Whitecaps opened the season with a 4–1 victory over the NY Redbulls. Caps got a brace from Kenny Miller and goals from newcomers Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. With the victory the Whitecaps improved to 4–0 in season opening games since joining the MLS.
March 16, After going down 1–0 on an Erick Torres goal, Kekuta Manneh got the game tying goal in the 81st min to earn the Whitecaps a draw versus Chivas USA.
March 22, David Ousted earned his 1st clean sheet of the season with a 0–0 draw on the road versus the New England Revolution.
March 29, Jordan Harvey opened the scoring with his 1st goal of the season. Kenny Miller scored on a penalty kick to put the Whitecaps up 2–0 before settling for a 2–1 victory over Houston Dynamo.
; Whitecaps finished March

April

April 5, Darren Mattocks put the Whitecaps up 1–0 before Colorado Rapids got a brace from Jose Mari to give the Rapids a 2–1 victory.
April 12, Robbie Keane scored the lone goal to give the LA Galaxy a 1–0 victory.
April 19, Mattocks scored to tie the game 1–1. Down 2–1 after a Galaxy goal, Manneh earned the Whitecaps the 2–2 draw versus the LA Galaxy with a goal in the 86th minute.
April 26, After going down 2–0 in the opening 9 minutes the Whitecaps fought back to earn a 2–2 draw versus Real Salt Lake with goals in the 86th min by Nicolas Mezquida and the 94th min by Sebastian Fernandez.
; Whitecaps finished April

May

May 3, Manneh opened the scoring to put the Whitecaps up 1–0. Whitecaps then got a brace by Morales with goals in the 19th and 20th min to give the Caps a 3–0 lead. Chris Wondolowski scored to in the 45th and 90th mins but it was not enough. Whitecaps held on for a 3–2 victory over San Jose Earthquakes.
May 4, Kenny Miller and the Whitecaps agree to a mutual contract termination effective immediately. Miller signs with the Rangers in Scotland after time with the club in the past.
May 7, after going down 2–0 versus Toronto FC, Manneh scored in the 92nd min to loss 2–1 in the 2014 Amway Canandian Championship first leg.
May 10, Ousted earned his 2nd clean sheet of the season with Erik Hurtado scoring the lone goal in the 1–0 victory over Columbus Crew.
May 14, going down 1–0 in the 4th minute, the Whitecaps fought back to a 3–3 agg score versus Toronto FC with goals by Hurtado and Morales. After no score in extra time the game went to penalty kicks where TFC won 4–3 and advanced to the Amway final versus Montreal Impact.
May 24, after goals by Hurtado and Gershon Koffie to go up 2–1 a controversial penalty call on Jay DeMerit let the Seattle Sounders FC leave Vancouver with a 2–2 draw.
; Whitecaps finished May

June

June 1, Whitecaps got a brace by Morales and goals by Hurtado and Harvey to hold on for a 4–3 victory versus Portland Timbers.
June 7, Hurtado and Mezquida put the Whitecaps up 2–0 versus the Philadelphia Union before Philadelphia scored 3 straight to gain a 3–2 lead. Morales scored in the 81st minute on a penalty kick to earn a tough 3–3 draw.
June 25, Whitecaps settled for their second 0–0 draw of the season when they played the Montreal Impact. Ousted earned his 3rd clean sheet of the season.
June 28, Whitecaps failed to score for the 2nd straight game and their winless streak extended to three games with a 2–0 loss to the Colorado Rapids.
; Whitecaps finished June

July

July 5, in front of an over capacity crown over 22,500 Fernandez scored in the lone goal in the 12th min to give the Whitecaps a 1–0 win over the Sounders.
July 8, Whitecaps announce they are looking into a partnership with the city of New Westminster, BC to field a USL Pro team in Queens Park starting in the 2015 season.
July 11, Whitecaps announced that Russell Teibert has agreed to a contract extension with the club. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
July 12, after Carlyle Mitchell scored to give the Whitecaps a 1–0 lead, Chivas USA came back with three straight goals to earn the 3–1 victory.
July 16, in a rematch of the Amway semi-final the Whitecaps and Toronto FC played to a 1–1 draw. Whitecaps got the goal by Mattocks.
July 19, a Mattocks 73rd min penalty kick earned a 1–1 draw with Real Salt Lake. it was the 2nd game in a row where the Whitecaps blew a 1–0 lead.
July 24, Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit announces his retirement from professional soccer after his second foot injury in two years. Pedro Morales is named as captain until end of season.
July 27, 3rd straight blown lead and 3rd straight draw with a 2–2 game versus FC Dallas. Mattocks opened the scoring in the 11th minute. A penalty kick by Morales in the 83rd min earned the hard-fought draw.
July 30, Whitecaps settled for a 0–0 draw with Chicago Fire. It was the third 0–0 draw if the season and Ousted's 5th clean sheet.
; Whitecaps finished July

August

August 8, Whitecaps sign central back Kendall Waston from Deportivo Saprissa.
August 10, after a Sporting KC own goal to give the Whitecaps a 1–0 lead, Mattocks scored to give the Whitecaps a 2–0 victory who extended their unbeaten streak to five games.
August 16, Whitecaps and Chivas USA played to a 0–0 draw to extend the Whitecaps' unbeaten streak to seven games. It was the Whitecaps fourth scoreless draw of the season and Ousted earned his seventh clean sheet of the season.
August 21, Whitecaps announced that Nigel Reo-Coker has been traded to Chivas USA for Argentina winger Mauro Rosales.
August 23, Whitecaps lost 2–0 to LA Galaxy for their first loss in six games and only the team's fifth loss since October 19, 2013. This game saw the debuts for Kendall Waston and Mauro Rosales.
August 28, Whitecaps announced that defender Jordan Harvey has agree to a contract extension with the club. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
August 30, Whitecaps fell 3–0 to Cascadia rival Portland Timbers. It was the third game in a row where the Whitecaps failed to score.
; Whitecaps finished August '''

September

September 3, the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce, Queen's Park Residents' Association, and Royal City Youth Soccer Club came together today to provide their support for bringing a Whitecaps FC USL PRO team to New Westminster in 2015.
September 6, the Whitecaps and D.C. United played to a 0–0 draw. Ousted earned his 8th clean sheet of the season.
September 10, Whitecaps earned a 2–0 victory over the visiting San Jose Earthquakes. Morales scored his team leading 9th goal of season in all competitions in 39th minute. Kendall Waston opened his scoring account with the Whitecaps with a header off a Morales cross in the 57th minute. Ousted earned his MLS leading 9th clean sheet of the season.
September 13, Whitecaps lost 2–1 to FC Dallas. Blas Perez scored a brace for FC Dallas and Erik Hurtado scored the only goal for the Caps.
September 15, Whitecaps announced a pre-contract signing of young Canadian residency player Marco Bustos to a home grown player contract. His contract will take effect January 2015. They also announce the home-grown player contract signing of young Canadian Kianz Froese. The city of New Westminster voted against modifications to Queens Park Stadium to allow a Whitecaps USL Pro team. The Whitecaps eventually decided to locate the team in Thunderbird Stadium on the UBC campus.

Current roster

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred From	Fee/Notes	Date	Ref.
15			San Jose Earthquakes	Acquired in exchange for allocation money
14			San Jose Earthquakes	Claimed in 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft
7		Sebastián Fernández	Chiapas	1 Year Loan	February 5, 2014
29	MF	Nicolás Mezquida	Fénix	Undisclosed	February 5, 2014
70	GK	Paolo Tornaghi	Unattached	Free	February 18, 2014
15	MF	Matías Laba	Toronto FC	Acquired in exchange for future considerations	February 26, 2014
77	MF	Pedro Morales	Málaga CF	Undisclosed / Designated Player	March 5, 2014
4	DF	Kendall Waston	Deportivo Saprissa	Undisclosed	August 8, 2014
30	MF	Mauro Rosales	Chivas USA	Trade with Chivas USA / Designated Player	August 21, 2014
32	MF	Marco Bustos	Whitecaps U18	Signed to HGP contract	September 15, 2014
38	MF	Kianz Froese	Whitecaps U18	Signed to HGP contract	September 15, 2014

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred To	Fee/Notes	Date	Ref.
	Brad Knighton	New England Revolution	traded for a conditional 2015 draft pick	December 11, 2013
	Corey Hertzog	Seattle Sounders FC	Claimed in Re-Entry Draft	December 18, 2013
	Camilo Sanvezzo	Querétaro	Undisclosed	January 17, 2014
	Daigo Kobayashi	New England Revolution	traded for a 2016 fourth round pick	February 26, 2014
	Matt Watson	Chicago Fire	Traded for a 2014 International Roster Spot	March 5, 2014
	Kenny Miller		Contract terminated	May 4, 2014
	Aminu Abdallah		Waived	June 27, 2014
	Jay DeMerit		Retired	July 24, 2014
	Nigel Reo-Coker	Chivas USA	Traded for Mauro Rosales	August 21, 2014

Technical staff

Role	Name	Nation
Head Coach		WAL
Assistant Coach		SCO
Assistant Coach		ENG
Head of Scouting & Analysis		GER
Goalkeeper Coach		NOR
Physiotherapist		CAN

Management

Role	Name	Nation
Executive Chair		IRE
President		CAN
Chief Operating Officer		CAN
Vice-President of Finance & Administration		CAN

Major League Soccer

Preseason

Rose City Invitational

	Team
1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	3	2	0	1	8	2	+6	7
2	San Jose Earthquakes	3	2	1	0	2	2	0	6
3	Portland Timbers	3	0	1	2	2	3	-1	2
4	Portmore United	3	0	2	1	2	7	-5	1

Regular season

Results

All times listed using Pacific Time Zone.

Tables

Western Conference

Overall

Playoffs

Knockout Round

Canadian Championship

Cascadia Cup

The Whitecaps have had a long-standing rivalry with the Pacific Northwest clubs Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers, dating back to the 1970s when ancestry clubs of the same name played in the original and now-defunct North American Soccer League. The tri-member tournament continued in 2014.
The winner is determined through league matches between the sides, and the club with the best record against both sides wins the trophy. As a result, the Whitecaps played three matches each against Portland and Seattle, winning the trophy for the second year in a row with a record of three wins, two losses, and a single draw with the Seattle Sounders, for a total of 10 points.

	Team
1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	6	3	2	1	8	11	-3	10
2	Seattle Sounders FC	6	2	2	2	12	10	+2	8
3	Portland Timbers	6	2	3	1	15	14	+1	7

Updated as of October 10, 2014

Cascadia Scoring

;Field players

Player	Team
	SEA	5	1
	VAN	4	2
	SEA	2	2
	POR	1	3
	SEA	1	3
	POR	2	1

Updated as of August 25, 2013

Cascadia Goalkeepers

;Goalkeepers

Player	Team
	VAN	2	1	1	360	2.00	1
	SEA	2	1	2	450	2.00	0
	POR	0	0	1	90	4.00	0
	POR	1	3	0	360	2.25	1

Updated as of September 4, 2014

Player stats

Goalkeeper stats

Top scorer

Includes all competitive matches.

			Name	Major League Soccer	MLS Cup Playoffs	Canadian Championship	Total
1	77	MF	Pedro Morales	8		1	9
2	11	FW	Darren Mattocks	6			6
3	19	FW	Erik Hurtado	5		1	6
4	23	FW	Kekuta Manneh	3		1	4
5	9	FW	Kenny Miller	3			3
5	7	MF	Sebastian Fernandez	3			3
7	29	FW	Nicolas Mezquida	2			2
7	2	DF	Jordan Harvey	2			2
9	24	DF	Carlyle Mitchell	1			1
9	28	MF	Gershon Koffie	1			1
9	4	DF	Kendall Waston	1			1

Top assists