Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Galaxy will attempt to get their season back on track on Saturday when they head to BC Place to take on high-flying Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Los Angeles made a promising start to its MLS Cup title defense, cruising past the Chicago Fire in a comfortable 2-0 home win to open the season.
What has followed, though, has been far less ideal.
The Galaxy showed great industry to net an equalizer deep into second-half stoppage time to get a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers, but they were unable to find a go-ahead goal in their next outing as Bruce Arena's men were held to a 1-1 home draw by the Houston Dynamo.
It looked as if Los Angeles was heading for a third successive draw last time out, but Chris Pontius found a late winner to see the reigning MLS Cup champions fall to D.C. United, 1-0, at RFK Stadium.
The defeat extended the Galaxy's road woes as the club has not won a match away from the StubHub Center since Aug. 11, 2014, but Arena is not fazed, so long as the Galaxy continue to pick up points.
"We just have to go out and play and go out and score more goals," Arena told the Galaxy's official website. "We just need to get out and play and have better concentration at the end of games when we can get points. Generally in professional sports the home team wins most of their games at home though. They have an advantage.
"When you're" playing on the road in the sport of soccer, if you get a point that's valuable and if you get three points, that's a terrific result."
Vancouver, meanwhile, has made a strong start to the campaign, winning three of its four contests to rise to second place in the overall MLS table.
Octavio Rivero is a major reason for the club's early success as the MLS newcomer has bagged three goals, two of which have been game-winning strikes.
Rivero got off the mark in Vancouver's opening match of the season, which ended 3-1 in favor of Toronto FC, but the subsequent three contests have seen the 'Caps produce late goals en route to collecting three successive wins.
Last time out, Vancouver received a goal from debutante Robert Earnshaw on the stroke of full time to see the club earn a 2-1 win over Portland.
While Earnshaw stole the headlines, head coach Carl Robinson tabbed David Ousted as the star man after the goalkeeper produced a string of fine saves to keep the 'Caps in the match.
"He was excellent," Robinson said of Ousted. "He won us the game today. Obviously the substitutes coming on made a big difference as well for us but without David we would have lost the game. Maybe we deserved to lose the game but when you have a top goal keeper it's important he keeps you in games like he did today."
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