This Saturday night, we get the latest episode of the actually SFW (but what are you doing at work at 10:30 on a weekend night?) #DCUafterdark as second-in-the-East D.C. United pay their fourth visit to BC Place, home of the league-leading Vancouver Whitecaps. In honor of the occasion, today we look back at the first ever match between these sides and a time when neither club was close to the top of any table.
The year was 2011. Newly "promoted" Vancouver's front office was still under the auspices of on Mr. Tommy Soehn, and United were coming off their first worst year ever. Ben Olsen's XI that August day included the likes of Austin Da Luz, and the Steves King and Brettschneider. The 'Caps would run out future Capitalinos Alain Rochat and John Thorrington - and of course (with a shout out to OWFSS) Long Tan. The game would end in what remains the only Whitecaps-United match in Vancouver to feature any goals. To date, it is also the only time Olsen & Co. have lost at BC Place.
If your math skills are anything other than comically bad, you'll recognize that United have never won this fixture. You'll also notice that the other two match-ups on that field, including last year's, have ended in scoreless ties, which is just about as positive a record as any Eastern Conference team has been able to achieve in Western Canada. The Whitecaps of 2015 are better than those past iterations, however, and United will need to be sharp for 90 minutes to extract a result.
We'll have our usual coverage - predictions, scouting, etc. - up over the rest of today and tomorrow. In the meantime take to the comments to let us know how you think of the Whitecaps and the list of short-lived D.C. players that have come to RFK by way of BC Place.