Compared to the <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1496-Whitecaps-Dynamo-preview-Salgado">highly-entertaining</a> nature of just about every Vancouver game to date, this one was a bit of a letdown. That wasn't necessarily all that unexpected, as the Whitecaps were facing <a href="http://rednationonline.ca/CountdownVancouverHouston4911.aspx">a talented</a> (if underachieving) Houston team on the road, and were forced to do so <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/sports/soccer/Midfield+injuries+weaken+Whitecaps+loss+Houston/4592353/story.html">without their regular central midfield tandem</a> of Terry Dunfield and Gershon Koffie (plus having several other players held out and limited thanks to injury issues). To this point, though, Vancouver had largely made their reputation on pulling out points despite significant adversity (see the Kansas City and New England games), so <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/soccer/Whitecaps+fall+Houston+Dynamo/4592118/story.html">a 3-1 loss</a> on the road has to be at least partially seen as a disappointment.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
In some ways, though, this is perhaps more in line with what we can expect to see from the Whitecaps this season. It's worth keeping in mind that they are an expansion team, and one that doesn't have a huge amount of depth at some critical positions. (They've got <a href="http://rednationonline.ca/PositiveproblemsforWhitecaps.aspx">more depth</a> than some would have expected, as just about every player who's seen time so far has shown at least some potential, but they still don't have the experienced veteran depth of many MLS sides.) They're going to be missing plenty of players at some point in time over the season, thanks to injuries and international callups, and it probably isn't realistic to expect the next man up to slot in perfectly every time. This is a very young roster, after all, and much of this season is about building for the future. That's not to say that you should ever write this team off, as they've already demonstrated that's a problematic assumption, and they still have plenty of talent to put up a good fight and perhaps come away with a few wins even in trying circumstances. It is to say that the depth and parity in MLS means the Whitecaps aren't significantly better than most other squads out there, though, and that they can't expect to win every match on the road with injury-reduced lineups. I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull out a few more miracles over the course of the year, but perhaps results like this serve to emphasize how unique what they've done so far is.
<a href="http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mls/recap;_ylt=Aq6jPvBBqLA31K4_xtizDQqdbgM6?gid=2011041020">Sunday's match</a> didn't start all that poorly for Vancouver, even though they fell behind 1-0 in the 37th minute on a goal by Houston's Cam Weaver. Camilo quickly equalized in the next minute, and a 1-1 scoreline didn't look bad for the Whitecaps. The Dynamo notched their second from Bobby Boswell in the 42nd minute, though, and that was reflective of a larger swing in possession and chances. Houston added a third from rookie Will Bruin in the 76th minute, and they clearly deserved the full three points on the day; Vancouver only managed two shots on net throughout the match. The injury situation didn't getting any better, either, as captain Jay DeMerit (trying to return from a groin injury) struggled throughout the first half and was replaced at halftime.
Still, it wasn't entirely a bad day for the Whitecaps. Although they continued <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1492-Why-Do-the-Whitecaps-Concede-So-Often">their disturbing habit of conceding plenty of goals</a>, they created some chances of their own from time to time and didn't look all that bad for an injury-depleted club playing their third match in eight days. Youth was served as well, as top draft pick Omar Salgado <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/soccer/Omar+Salgado+takes+Whitecaps+home+state/4589588/story.html">did in fact see some time</a> before his family and friends in his home state of Texas, coming on in the 84th minute, and he showed some promise in limited action. On the whole, there weren't really any appalling performances on the Vancouver side, and many of the players involved who hadn't seen much time before (including Salgado, Mouloud Akloul and Jed Brovsky) looked reasonably promising. This isn't a crushing loss for the team; if anything, it's more of a notice that this isn't an easy league, and it's one where every point matters. They didn't come away with any points on this day, but there's still plenty of hope for what they can accomplish this season.