Whitecaps FC-Earthquakes Preview

The Vancouver Whitecaps have picked the perfect time to move to the cusp of the longest winning streak in the four-year history of the franchise as they continue to battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

While they would appear to have a big edge over last-place San Jose, the Earthquakes figure to come out fired up in the last-ever game at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday night.

The Whitecaps (11-8-13) and Portland are in a tight race for the fifth postseason berth in the conference, and Vancouver is seeking a fourth consecutive victory after winning 1-0 at Seattle last Friday.

Kekuta Manneh scored and David Ousted recorded his MLS-leading 11th clean sheet as the Whitecaps earned their second consecutive Cascadia Cup title and fifth overall.

"Something's happened in the last three or four weeks," center back Andy O'Brien said. "I don't know whether it's given the time of the season and how important it is, but the penny's dropped and it's important for the last two games of the season that we give a good account of ourselves."

Vancouver is 5-0-2 in its last seven against the Earthquakes after claiming both meetings this year, 3-2 on May 3 and 2-0 on Sept. 10. The Whitecaps, though, are 0-1-3 all-time in San Jose.

"We're not even looking at that," midfielder Russell Teibert said. "We're just looking at playing our hardest and having each guy give everything they have. You saw that for yourself last weekend. Every guy put everything they had on the table.

"We played with heart, we played with desire, and we played to win like we needed to win. And we need to win this weekend. When you have that in the back of your mind, you're tough to beat."

A change at the helm could provide a spark for an Earthquakes team that's been outscored 29-12 during a franchise worst-tying 13-game winless stretch. Assistant Ian Russell will step in as interim coach for the final two games after Mark Watson was fired Wednesday.

San Jose (6-15-11) announced Houston coach Dominic Kinnear will take over at season's end. The Earthquakes are moving to a new 18,000-seat stadium next year.

"We could not be happier to welcome back Dominic Kinnear to lead the Quakes in our new stadium," club president Dave Kaval told the Earthquakes' official website. "It's a historic day for our franchise and it demonstrates our club's continued investment to field a world-class soccer club."

The Earthquakes are coming off last Saturday's 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake, their third consecutive defeat. San Jose has been shut out four times over its last seven games while scoring three goals.

Chris Wondolowski is expected back after competing with the United States national team. He's scored 14 of San Jose's 35 goals despite appearing in 24 games.