For Whitecaps, one good test leads to another

Which version of the Vancouver Whitecaps will show up against Sporting Kansas City?
That’s the question that fans and media types will be asking tonight as the Caps host Sporting K.C. in the second of three MLS games this week. One good test leads to another after the Whitecaps blanked Western Conference-leading FC Dallas 3-0 at home on Saturday.
If the decisive win was any indication, the Whitecaps could be an even better squad against K.C. than they were while going scoreless in three games prior to Saturday.
“We’ve had a few bad results in the run in and we got together and met as players, and we decided that we need to change things around if we want to have a good season,” said Vancouver winger Kekuta Manneh.
He is also showing signs of a personal turnaround after leading the charge against Dallas. His cross into the box led to a Dallas own-goal that gave Vancouver the only goal it needed and then closed out the scoring in the second half with a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Chris Seitz following an overhead pass from Blas Perez moments after he came on a substitute.
“We just keep believing,” said Manneh. “We're creating chances. "If we weren't creating chances we would have been worried.
"We knew it was just going to be a matter of time."
The performance was promising after Manneh, now in his fourth season with Vancouver despite being only 21, had failed to score and struggled earlier in the season.
Defender Jordan Harvey showed that he might have an offensive knack again as he scored his second goal of the campaign off a Cristian Techera corner-kick in the 63rd minute. Harvey went without a goal in 2015 after scoring four in 2014.
Despite the offensive heroics, which resulted in Vancouver’s first goal of the season from the run of play, David Ousted was spectacular at times. Ousted, who wore the captain’s armband Saturday while Pedro Morales remained out with a hip injury, has displayed strong leadership while the Whitecaps go through roster adjustments that have led to the departure of veterans and changed their core over the past two seasons.
But Ousted is confident that the Caps have enough leadership to weather a difficult season.
“I’ve said in the past few weeks that we were just going through a rough patch and that’s the time when the leaders of this team step up,” he said. “It’s when especially the veterans of this team take responsibility and I think they have. You see a lot of guys stepping on the pitch (Saturday) wanting to take responsibility and take the ball. The young guys wanted the ball as well, and that’s what it takes.
“MLS is such a long season that you’ll go through patches where it’s going to be pretty tough once in a while, but that’s when the leadership steps up. We got a great locker-room and we’ve got everything we need in there to be a successful team. But once in a while, it takes the leaders on this team to step up a little bit more.”
This week will be one of those times as the Caps (3-4-1) host Sporting K.C. (4-4-0), a former MLS champion, and then visit New York FC on Saturday.
Consequently, tonight’s game will feature a revised Vancouver lineup, as coach Carl Robinson manages his players’ fatigue levels.
Which brings us back to our original question: Which version of the Whitecaps will show up against Kansas City?
The Whitecaps’ answer: Hopefully, one that keeps scoring.