But, in examining RSL’s 3-0 loss to the Whitecaps Thursday, you have to shake your head and try to think back to the spring, when the Royals were everybody’s shoo-in pick for the MLS Cup. Think back to when Real Salt Lake was one lousy goal away from winning the CONCACAF Champions League and making plans to head to Japan for the Club World Cup.

And, the result only confirmed what we’ve all come to realize since the MLS season began; that Portland is well ahead of Vancouver. The Whitecaps weren’t deserving of losing by the slender 2-1 scoreline.

Vancouver coach Tom Soehn’s return to D.C. certainly didn’t go as he would have liked. Chris Pontius scored twice for D.C. United and rookie Joe Willis saved the day in goal, as the Whitecaps fell 4-0 at RFK Stadium.

With just days to spare, they learned that enough backers had been brought aboard to fund Rise and Shine: The Jay Demerit sStory, the documentary made by Lewis and Tutulugdzija about the current Whitecap’s journey from the lowest divisions of English semipro football to the Premiership — and a place with the U.S. national team at the 2010 World Cup.

Whether or not you believe in any particular deity, ghosts, talismans or luck, you couldn’t shake the feeling that some greater power had an influence over the deciding game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

Make it three for Toronto FC. The Reds recorded a 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC Saturday in the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship final, giving TFC a 3-2 aggregate victory in the tournament and their third consecutive Voyageurs Cup.

In Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City, the Whitecaps got out to a 1-0 lead, then fell completely apart, giving up two goals in eight minutes. The Caps recovered at halftime, but couldn’t find an equalizer in the second 45 minutes.

It took 14 games to do it, but the Vancouver Whitecaps got their second win of the season. A stunning left-footed strike from defender Alain Rochat gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead over the Philadelphia Union just 11 minutes in, and it was good enough. The Whitecaps, owners of the third-worst defensive record in MLS, shut out a Philadelphia team Saturday that scored six times when it last crossed the border — when it routed Toronto FC at BMO Field.

The script was reversed on Saturday. The fireworks came early at Empire Field, and then the Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls played out a tense chess match in the second half as the club drew 1-1. When the Whitecaps play at home, Canadian soccer fans have become used to seeing last-second comebacks, second-half momentum changes and thrills right before the final whistle.

DeMerit played in the Premier League with Watford, but archived Premier League footage costs, gulp, $20,000 per minute. And the film just can’t work without game footage. Money has to be paid to the national federations if they use footage of DeMerit playing for the U.S. national side. So, as more and more artists look to fans to finance their projects, DeMerit and the two filmmakers are taking it a step further. They doing a little more than simply reaching out to fans to help fund the project. So far, a total of 437 fans have pledged US$51,374 (as of the morning of May 25) to help get the film ready for distribution. But they will be guaranteed merchandise from the movie, soccer gear or even autographed memorabilia depending on how much they spend