But a two-game winning streak? Start the parade. And, for the long-suffering supporters of this franchise, they shouldn’t try to analyze things too much. Just enjoy it — they deserve some triumphs, after all. And, for a franchise that has suffered so many suckerpunches late in games, maybe it’s time for a karmic shift, to see the opposition blow so many chances they should have converted.

“It’s just a clip,” Miller said. “I was getting ready to pull the trigger and put the ball in the back of the net, and he just clipped my heels or my calf. It’s one of them – it’s harsh on him, but by the letter of the law, it’s got to be a sending off.”

Canadian Silviu Petrescu has been named MLS Referee of the Year.

And, while the Whitecaps came back in stoppage time to draw Sporting Kansas City 3-3 on Saturday, they surrendered a 93rd-minute last-gasp goal to New England’s Ilija Stolica and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with the Revolution in front of 19,396 fans. But the talking point won’t be the Stolica equalizer. It will be the bizarre sequence that followed Eric Hassli’s penalty-kick goal in the 56th.