Whitecaps head to Houston hungry for goals, first win of 2022

VANCOUVER — Heading into just the third game of the season, Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini admits that pressure is beginning to mount.

The 'Caps (0-1-1) earned their first point of the Major League Soccer campaign last week, battling New York City FC to a 0-0 draw, but the club is still looking for its first goal of the year.

“It’s not that we are with the water to our throat and we are drowning. But I would love to win (this week). So I think it’s good to feel the urgency," Sartini said Thursday. "There’s 32 games left, but we don’t like to be under the (playoff) line, so if we win, we already are over the line. It’s much better.”

After an ugly 4-0 loss to Columbus Crew to start the season, a goalless tie with the reigning MLS Cup-champions was a marked improvement.

Still, Sartini knows his side will need to generate some offence in order to come away with the full three points when they visit the Houston Dynamo (0-1-1) on Saturday. The coach liked how his team played tactically and moved against NYCFC, but he wants his players to make better choices with the ball.

“We need to always play the simple option. Because the simple option is most of the time the most rewarding one," he said.

A locked-in defence helped goalkeeper Thomas Hasal record his first clean sheet of the season and earn MLS Team of the Week honours last week. Now the back line is looking at how it can help with the attack, said centre back Ranko Veselinovic.

"We need goals and that's our main focus," he said.

“We need to be a little bit more patient with the ball, not to hurry so much. But we improved in the second game from the first game and we just need to now build it up.”

The 'Caps need to trust their tactics and formation in