British Columbia is home to nearly 8,000 mountain peaks, but this weekend, only 11 of them matter. Matchday 10 pits your home state birds against a feat of nature, and the Loons are ready to climb both the metaphorical landscape and the MLS rankings in a matchup against Jesper Sørenson’s side. I imagine scaling a mountain isn’t too bad when you can fly, right?

Run of Form

Minnesota United FC (4-1-4)
Run of Form: D-D-W-W-D

We all know the drill by now, don’t we? Minnesota’s unbeaten streak has stretched to eight games behind some brilliant defending, but back-to-back scoreless draws have left the squad feeling like they should have left with more. The Loons are strong in the transition and killer on the backline, but beating Vancouver is a tall ask for anyone right now — just ask Monterrey or Pumas or just about anybody they’ve played in 2025. As Minnesota aims to get their offense back in gear, one obvious area of opportunity is in capitalizing on their set pieces. The boys will look to reliable contributors like Joaquín Pereyra, Joseph Rosales, and Michael Boxall to keep delivering on corners and throw-ins, as the club aims to take that extra step and stay in the Western Conference’s top three. With a strong starting XI and a deep and talented bench, let’s hope that tight game against Dallas was the rising action in a major Minnesotan victory arc.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6-1-2)
Run of Form: D-W-W-D-L

It’s been a dynamite season for this British Columbian side under the leadership of Jesper Sørenson. The ‘Caps sit at the very peak (pun intended) of the Supporters’ Shield rankings with 20 points, while simultaneously finding their way to the semifinals in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Canadian side also logged a 0-0 scoreline on Matchday 9 — their second scoreless match of the season — but before that, they decimated Austin FC 5-1 and shut out the Rapids 2-0. Yes, they’re a huge threat. But they’re also busy this Thursday with their CCC matchup against Miami, meaning their lineup against the Loons this weekend might stray from the norm. There are only so many times you can put Brian White on the field and expect him to score a hattrick. Right…?

Keys to the Match:

Shock Factor

As the season approaches its first double-digit matchday, both clubs and individual players are establishing their identities and expectations. Scouting is more in-depth, and elements of surprise are few and far between at this point. For Minnesota, that means opposing clubs are quickly learning to tailor their defense to hold off Kelvin Yeboah and Tani Oluwaseyi. By now, everyone knows the striker duo is a major threat, and it’s getting harder and harder to find open spaces to work in. Minnesota needs to decide whether it’s worth switching up tactics to give the front two the unpredictability factor, or if they should stay the course on an approach that has largely been successful through the first nine games. Tani and Kelvin are still creating chances up front, and will likely continue to try to force their way through the defense on the grounds of fancy footwork and sheer athleticism (both of which they have in spades). Even after consecutive scoreless draws, Oluwaseyi is tied for third in the league in goals scored, with Yeboah just behind in fourth. All they need to do now is thread the needle between their tried-and-true scoring methods and calculated risks to keep Vancouver on their toes.

Mind the Comeback

If you’ve been paying attention to CCC play, you know that Vancouver’s had to come from behind to earn their spot in the semis. Two second-half goals leveled the score against CF Monterrey, and Tristan Blackmon tied up the Pumas match with a 93rd-minute strike. The Loons haven’t really had to force their way into a comeback this season, and we already know three out of four of the season’s wins have come from games in which they led at the half. There’s something to be said for momentum in sports in general, or maybe in physics — an object in motion stays in motion, or whatever Newton said. (Don’t look at me. I studied English.) But we’ve seen the exception in a 3-3 draw when SKC had an astounding comeback, and with the ‘Caps proving they know how to rally in the second half, Minnesota needs to stay locked in regardless of the scoreline All that to say: Don’t get comfy with the lead. I wouldn’t bank on scaling a mountain in just 45 minutes.

Combination Play

You can’t really write about Vancouver without acknowledging the force that is Brian White, Mr. Four-Goals-in-One-Game and the conference’s leading scorer. If you’re looking for bicycle kicks and flashy breakaways, he’s not your guy — it’s his quiet consistency that makes him such a threat. He always puts himself in the right place at the right time. But that means much of his success stems from top-notch synchrony with a handful of other players, namely Emmanuel Sabbi and Ali Ahmed, both of whom have proven to be powerhouses in their own right. Sabbi has logged two goals of his own this season despite having started only three games, and Ahmed has shown his mettle as a playmaker. He might be a midfielder playing up front, but he’s already locked in three assists, just one fewer than our own star playmaker Joaquín Pereyra. Any combination of the three feels lethal, but Minnesota has demonstrated unshakeable defensive discipline time and time again. The Loons’ guard does not let up, and it’s that utter attentiveness not only to star players like White but to the whole of an opponent’s attacking system that keeps the ball out of the goal. As long as the five-man backline (and Dayne St. Clair, who has five clean sheets to his name this season) keeps up the good work and limits the interplay between these three ‘Caps, they’ll stand a good chance at keeping them quiet.