Whitecaps Lose 1-0 to Chivas USA in Preseason Friendly

We've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in the preseason matches from the Whitecaps. The good came right away, with the 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake. The bad came against the Seattle Sounders, the 105 minute training match which finished 1-0 for the Sounders. And the ugly came today against Chivas USA, especially in the first half when the team was too defensive.

You could say it was a cruel 1-0 loss. Although the team was brutally defensive in the first half, letting Chivas create chance after chance, in the second half Thordarson got the team to play with more spirit. While I complain about the team being defensive, they were relatively solid at the back. DeMerit played the first half (replaced by O'Leary at halftime) alongside Janicki in the middle, with Leathers and Rochat the fullbacks, and the back four kept the score at 0-0 until the 89th minute.

The second half started poorly, with Brovsky conceding a penalty for Chivas just two minutes in. Luckily Trujillo shot his penalty wide, giving the idea that this match was destined to be a tight 0-0. After the penalty, the Whitecaps really woke up, and the team started to go forward and create some opportunities for themselves. The Chivas keeper Jack Thornton was forced to make some great saves, and on another day the Whitecaps could have scored a couple of goals from the opportunities they created.

But the heartbreaking winner for Chivas came in the 89th minute, when Padilla latched onto Umana's long ball and finished. It was a perfectly timed run from Padilla, and the Whitecaps were unlucky to not have finished with a draw. What are your thoughts on the Whitecaps and their loss to Chivas USA? Can they bounce back against the USA U-18 National team? Share your comments below!