The San Jose Earthquakes are headed to British Columbia, Canada to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, Oct. 2 at BC Place. Saturday’s match marks San Jose’s first fixture abroad since 2019. Coincidentally, San Jose’s last match outside of the United States was also at BC Place on July 20, 2019, which resulted in a 3-1 victory over Whitecaps FC.
Fans may notice that the Earthquakes’ kits look a tad different on Saturday. All jerseys, for both teams, will include an Every Child Matters badge on the chest as part of Vancouver’s Truth & Reconciliation Day. Saturday’s match is the first after Canada’s national holiday on September 30, which honors the tragic legacy of residential schools. For more information on Whitecaps FC’s Indigenous Night, please click here.
The Quakes played to a scoreless draw against Whitecaps FC on Aug. 13 at PayPal Park, the first of three meetings between San Jose and Vancouver in 2021. San Jose and Vancouver are both just below the playoff line at 33 and 34 points, respectively.
San Jose have yielded a record of 8-9-10 in all-time regular season matchups against Whitecaps FC, including a strong 5-1-7 record at home, and a lackluster 2-8-3 record at BC Place. The Quakes will need to overcome their past struggles at BC Place if they are to defend their active eight-match road unbeaten streak, longest in club history.
Due to Covid-19, Whitecaps FC played their scheduled home fixtures before Aug. 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium, managing a record of 3-3-2 in Utah. Now back on their home turf, the Whitecaps have converted BC Place into a fortress, picking up four wins in five matches (4-1-0) since their return.
Vancouver is led by forwards Cristian Dájome and Brian White, with eight and six goals, respectively. Dájome has been absent from the scoresheet since tallying a brace against Minnesota United FC on July 31. White has produced two goals in his last three matches for Whitecaps FC.
Despite suffering a midweek loss to Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski said that the team remains confident in their pursuit of MLS Cup Playoffs.
“You look at the other results, today it didn’t do us too much damage, but that being said it would've been a perfect day to move up the table,” Wondolowski said after Wednesday night’s loss. “We’re still outside looking in, but we have a huge one against Vancouver on Saturday and if and when we pick up three points there, we can really start to get a move in. The faith hasn’t wavered one bit in the locker room, and we still feel confident. We feel that we can do a lot of great things in these seven games and really start clicking.”
Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT. Saturday’s match at BC Place will be broadcast on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
