The Vancouver Whitecaps might not have had their captain, but they got a skipper’s performance from his stand in, as Kenny Miller bagged the winner as the home side defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 in front of 18,078 at BC Place.

With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

“I think that Joe did well,” Rennie said. “I think he’s done well all preseason, all training camp, and Brad’s done fairly well, too."

The Whitecaps may have signed a slew of attacking players over the last week, but Darren Mattocks re-established himself as the big man on campus after the team’s first preseason game of 2013.

“We are thankful for the contributions Barry made during his time with the club. Unfortunately Barry and his family never fully settled in Vancouver, and we’ve mutually decided to move in different directions,” said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi in that release.

The Whitecaps will almost certainly lose if Darren Mattocks plays 90 minutes. But, before Davide Chiumiento left, the 'Caps were undefeated if he played — but NOT the full 90.

In fact, anyone who had never seen the Whitecaps before Thursday’s playoff game would have likely said that Matt Watson — a guy who played in NASL last season — must be a Designated Player, not Robson or Miller.

But, the Whitecaps later found out they would become the first Canadian franchise to qualify for the playoffs after all, as FC Dallas couldn't capitalize on the Whitecaps slip-up, losing 3-1 to Seattle.

Gershon Koffie, Dane Richards, Camilo and Barry Robson all found the back of the net against the worst side in the Western Conference, despite the club finding itself on the wrong side of the possession statistics, holding only 32.3 per cent of the ball.

A last-second miss from Camilo brought the Vancouver Whitecaps’ winless streak to seven games, as the club tied the Seattle Sounders 0-0 in front of a crowd of 21,000 at a sold-out BC Place Saturday night.