Skip to main content

Vancouver Whitecaps' Jay DeMerit, left, tackles Montreal Impact's Sanna Nyassi during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday March 10, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckDarryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

The Vancouver Whitecaps are in their second MLS season, but have yet to achieve something that teams usually earn much sooner — their first road win.

The Whitecaps will try to make amends for going winless on the road in 2011 when they meets Chivas USA on Saturday in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, Calif. Captain Jay DeMerit said the Whitecaps have to build on the momentum they developed while blanking the Montreal Impact 2-0 in their season opener last weekend.

"We had a tough time getting that away monkey off our back last year," DeMerit said. "So the mentality is to get that off our back as early as possible this year, so we can just get on with it and focus on one game at a time. If we can continue to keep the same attitude and do the things we did right last week, it should come fairly quickly."

The Whitecaps went 0-12-5 on the road last season and finished last overall with a 6-18-10 mark.

DeMerit and other returnees hoping the new attitude brought by first-year coach Martin Rennie will carry over away from home.

"It's a fresh season, so you don't worry about those things too much, but as those things go on, then the pressure seems to mount," DeMerit said.

He said the Whitecaps allowed too many easy goals on the road in last season. Away from home, teams have to play a more compact, defensive-oriented style.

"We have to get guys behind the ball and make sure we're solid at the back and as an 11 and then use our quality up front," he said after practice Friday. "We know we can, but there's a formula that goes into that, and we didn't get that formula right enough last year."

The Whitecaps squandered leads at times on the road last season, when few of their players had MLS experience. DeMerit the core unit now experienced in the league's intricacies, but the club still has to play smarter.

"There's ways to manage games and, definitely, you have to manage them better — because most of the odds are against you," he said. "When it comes to that consistency, that experience needed to see games through or see games out is going to be most important this year. But you look at the additions and they're all experienced guys that know how to do that. So we're hoping to use that to our advantage."

DeMerit said getting the first win is a "huge motivator," but the Whitecaps can't go into road games with the same lack of confidence that they did in 2011.

"Maybe we feared being on the road," Rochat said. "We had some great games at home, and then on the road something different (happened)."

Rennie said he has faced little talk about the road problems because he was not with the team last season. He will still talk to the club about it before Saturday's game and use it as some extra motivation, but does want to dwell on the situation.

Rennie said the Whitecaps have to stay patient, compact and just remain in the game so that they can capitalize on their chance when it comes.

"Even when you lose a goal, you don't panic," he said. "You stay in the game, and then see what you can get out of it. Those are some of the keys, but a lot of it is just managing each game as it comes and focusing on each teams that you play against."

Rennie said road trips can be an advantage because players face few distractions while they are away, and home teams face pressure to live up to their fans' expectations.

"Sometimes at home, the onus is on you to take things away from the other team," Rennie said. "So you've got to think about that when you go away from home and use that to your advantage."

Rennie will also rely on some science with help from new strength and conditioning coach Mike Young. Appointed this week, the 35-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native holds a doctorate in kinesiology and is internationally renowned for his conditioning and speed development work.

"He brings a lot of knowledge of how to travel and how to make sure you're eating and drinking and resting at the right times," said Rennie, who has worked with him in the past. "He's worked with elite-level athletes. And those guys that he's working with, they don't really rely so much on the technical skill or principle. They're relying absolutely on their body to be at its absolute best."

The Whitecaps earned two draws against Chivas last season. Chivas is looking for its first win this year after giving a late goal in a 1-0 loss to Houston in its season opener.

Vancouver will go mainly with the lineup that beat Montreal.

Goalkeeper Joe Cannon was not trying to think about the 2011 road woes as he prepared for an afternoon flight to California. He said the Whitecaps will just let the game come to them.

"There's travel and there's hotels, and there's guys that can't respond to breaks that don't go your way," said Cannon. "We have a mature group that understands that winning on road means overcoming all those things and executing on what we can and having a good game plan. I think we're prepared."

He insisted the poor road showing in 2011 is not an albatross as the 2012 campaign begins to unfold.

"I don't really look at it as a burden at all," said Cannon. "I want to look at us being able to play good soccer, an honest kind of soccer on the road, and to dictate the game like we can. For us, that's really important. Once we start doing that on the road, then the wins will come."

Note: Vancouver midfielder John Thorrington (quad) and Atiba Harris (knee) remain out with injuries.

Interact with The Globe