“This is a local derby, this is,” Miller joked. “We could almost walk there or take bikes or whatever. It’s great; it’s a west-coast rivalry, it’s as close as you can be for a rivalry in our league. It does feel like a genuinely short trip.”

Three Canadian keepers all made their season debuts: Nathan Ingham started Wednesday and Saturday for FC Edmonton, as he looks (for now) to have at least a loose grip on the No. 1 position with the club. Marcel DeBellis, formerly of the Ottawa Fury, got into a game for the Richmond Kickers; and Marco Carducci finally got his chance to start for Rio Grande Valley.

“I’m excited, it’s been a long time coming,” Ingham said after the Eddies trained Friday.

Maybe this was just a bit of karmic payback for the Cosmos scrambling to postpone their May 21 home date with the Eddies just so the New York side could jaunt off to Saudi Arabia for a friendly.

Cyle Larin and Will Johnson have run away and hid at the top of the minutes-played-by-Canadians-in-MLS list.

So far this season, Toronto FC looks to have shaken the “finalists’ curse” that has haunted so many MLS Cup runners-up in the past.

So, the extra week off gave the Eddies a chance to hit the restart button on their season. At least, that’s how the team sees it as it prepares for a visit from the Indy Eleven.

There were some other interesting Canadian storylines that developed over the weekend. In the loss to Vancouver, Canadian Tyler Pasher made his MLS debut, playing 45 minutes for Sporting Kansas City.

But no one matched Tosaint Ricketts, who scored three times in two matches for Toronto FC. He scored two match-winning goals, as the Reds grew their winning streak to six games.

A press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in Regina, where it is expected that a friendly featuring Spanish side Valencia and a North American team (odds are on the New York Cosmos) will be announced.