VANCOUVER, B.C. – It's been a tough couple of weeks for the previously high-flying Vancouver Whitecaps.
With three losses in their last four MLS matches, the chasing pack has now caught up with the side that has spent most of the year occupying the top two places in the Western Conference.
All of a sudden, a loss at San Jose on Saturday night (10:30 pm ET; TSN in Canada, MLS LIVE in US) and the Earthquakes move to within two points of the 'Caps, throwing the battle for Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoff positions wide open. A Vancouver win, however, and they clinch their second straight postseason berth.
It's the "fine lines" that head coach Carl Robinson has talked about all season.
"I said to the guys six or seven games ago, they're all cup finals, and they are," Robinson told reporters at training. "Each week it changes, it gets tighter, it gets closer, there's more pressure.
"They're fighting for their lives, as we are. Everybody's fighting to get points at this crucial moment of the season. We know it's close. There's teams scrapping and they will fight till the end and we're a team that will fight till the end as well."
The San Jose game is just the start of what will be a season-defining month for Vancouver, with a home-and-away series against FC Dallas next up. They are three big games that will shape how, when, and perhaps if, Vancouver enter the postseason.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that international duty will affect the Whitecaps during the period. Kendall Waston will be away with Costa Rica, Darren Mattockswith Jamaica and four players will be with the Canadian senior and U-23 teams.
And then there's the injuries.
Midfielder Pedro Morales (hamstring) and forward Octavio Rivero (Achilles) were both unable to start in last weekend's loss to New York City FC, two major absences.
"Since June, we haven't had our three DPs [on the field at the same time]," Robinson said. "It makes a big difference. The three DPs of NYC won them the game really. We haven't had that, but it shows the depth of our squad that we're still in with a shout towards the end of the season with a number of injuries."
Both Morales and Rivero have trained lightly this week, giving Robinson the dilemma of whether he can risk starting both, or either, or if they'll have a better impact, and have less risk of further damage, by coming off the bench.
Morales says he feels good and is "feeling nothing in my hamstring now," but with a lack of competitive minutes under his belt, how long he can go in a game will now be up to the Whitecaps medical team.
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"I'd rather have 90 minutes from Pedro," Robinson admitted. "That would be nice. We'll try and get to it as close as we can."
Vancouver are naturally keen to get Morales and Rivero back to full fitness as soon as they can. Both are key cogs to the Whitecaps achieving postseason success.
"We know where we are," Robinson said. "There's four games to go. If you would have said at the start of the season we'd have been in this position, people would have snapped your hand off.
"We're competing with some very good teams in the Western Conference and we want to be, not just this season but every season. We'll take it as a challenge, we'll enjoy the challenge, and we'll go and make the best of it."
