Crew-Whitecaps FC Preview

Amid the best start in franchise history, the Vancouver Whitecaps only want to get better.

Looking for a fifth straight win, the Whitecaps can continue that progression with a fourth consecutive victory over the visiting Columbus Crew on Wednesday night.

Since opening with a 3-1 loss to Toronto FC, Vancouver (4-1-0) owns a 6-1 goal advantage while winning four straight for the first time in the club's five-year history.

"There is definitely confidence in the locker room, but there is also the knowledge we need to be ever better every time," said goalkeeper David Ousted, who faced only one shot on goal while recording his third shutout in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Los Angeles.

With a league-high 12 points, Vancouver is the biggest surprise in MLS. Though the Whitecaps reached the playoffs twice in their previous four years, they never finished better than fifth in the Western Conference.

Last season, their 42 goals were the fewest among the 10 playoff teams, but their seven in 2015 are tied with FC Dallas for the most in MLS.

"Now, when people are going to play the Whitecaps, they are going to say, 'They are really good and we need to beat them,'" Ousted said. "We need to work even harder if we want to keep ourselves up there."

That message comes straight from coach Carl Robinson, who is doing all he can to make sure his team avoids complacency.

"What we have to do is be more consistent," he said. "If we are more consistent then we become a very good team. I don't want to be a good team one week and a very poor team the next two or three weeks."

With a league-high four goals, rookie Octavio Rivero has been Vancouver's most consistent offensive option. After Kekuta Manneh scored in the 56th minute Saturday, Rivero followed with a goal 10 minutes later.

Saturday marked the first time Vancouver didn't need any late-match heroics to prevail. Rivero scored in the 86th minute and stoppage time in consecutive 1-0 victories at Chicago and Orlando City, respectively, before Robert Earnshaw's 90th-minute goal led to a 2-1 win over Portland on March 28.

"They have momentum right now, there's no question about it," Crew coach Gregg Berhalter told his club's official website. "When you have a winning streak, there's confidence and belief in the group. That goes a long way."

The Whitecaps haven't tallied later than the 74th minute while outscoring Columbus 4-1 during a three-game series winning streak. Prior to that run, Vancouver was outscored 3-1 while losing the first two meetings. Vancouver's Erik Hurtado scored in the 37th minute of a 1-0 victory at Columbus in the only 2014 meeting.

Following a week off, the Crew (1-2-0) look to get back on track after falling 2-1 to New York on March 28. Tony Tchani tied the match in the 58th minute, but the Red Bulls answered nine minutes later.

Columbus finished with 10 men after forward Federico Higuain received his second yellow card of the game in the 83rd minute and a suspension for this match.

"It will be interesting for what it does for the balance of the team missing Federico," Berhalter said. "He is a big influence on how we play."