“We know that Marco and Felipe have been going through a bit of a rough spell. We were lucky that Marco made the difference tonight with his two goals. Overall, I think that we played very well,” said Schallibaum. “We applied immense pressure on the sides with Justin (Mapp) and Romero. We were very much at ease both offensively and defensively too. D.C. plays an intelligent game and is a tough team to play.”

The Swiss defender, although not the only man to contribute to the loss, turned in a performance that will have fans and critics asking why local products Maxim Tissot and Karl Ouimette are not seeing more minutes.

On Monday, Chris Rolfe became just the second non-Whitecap to win the MLS Player of the Week award over the last six weeks.

But, for a team that is currently 13 points out of the playoffs, is shedding a hopeful young prospect the right thing to do? Why bring in aging players for a playoff push that, if successful, would be considered nothing short of miraculous?

The Canadian Soccer Association confirmed Tuesday that forward Simeon Jackson, who came on as a sub in Sunday’s shocking Gold-Cup opening loss to Martinique, has left the team. The former Norwich City striker, who is unattached, is off to Europe to pursue a “club commitment” there. Jackson’s departure has the blessing of current Canadian men’s national-team coach Colin Miller.

The Brazilian banged home the winner on 48 minutes, but Matt Watson played a big role in generating the PK, tapping the ball away from Bill Hamid in the area before getting clattered by the goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Calgary’s Paul Hamilton didn’t get off the bench as his NASL side, the Carolina RailHawks, were eliminated in a 3-0 loss on the road to Real Salt Lake. Hamilton was one of eight RailHawks regular who didn’t start the game – as coach Colin Clarke decided to rest his core group of players ahead of Saturday’s possible NASL spring-season clincher against Atlanta.

And it gave TFC one of the oddest stat lines at the end of the game. Two goals scored, but only one shot on goal.

For Canadians Dwayne De Rosario and Paul Hamilton, Wednesday’s fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup saw them make important contributions as their clubs survived.

From a strict asset-management standpoint, once the Whitecaps decided they wanted to deal Rochat, it became a case of the sooner, the better.