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Vancouver, Toronto clash at BMO Field

Jun 28, 2011 - 6:44 PM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Vancouver Whitecaps FC debuted in Major League Soccer on March 19 with a win over Toronto FC, but the Canadian clubs meet for the second time over three months later with just four combined wins.

Vancouver has won just one time since that win over Toronto, going just 1-6-9, while Toronto has not played much better since that match at Empire Field, as it has a 2-6-9 record over its last 17 games.

Now, Vancouver and Toronto FC clash at BMO Field on Wednesday with both hoping to turn their league seasons around, and gain a little momentum ahead of their Canadian Cup showdown Saturday.

"Both are equally important, especially because we need results in the season. We're struggling right now," Toronto midfielder Gianluca Zavarise said.

"We need to get some positive results going forward. Obviously the Canadian Cup, we need to win that," he continued. "We need to advance and get something and stay positive."

Vancouver and Toronto FC tied the first match of the Cup final, 1-1, at Empire Field, and the Whitecaps were leading the second match 1-0 in the 60th minute when the match was called due to lightning and poor field conditions.

The second game will be replayed from the start Saturday at BMO Field, erasing Eric Hassli's goal from the abandoned match. The winner claims a berth in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.

But right now, neither side seems capable of being competitive in that event.

Toronto (2-7-9) lost 3-1 to Real Salt Lake on Saturday. And coach Aron Winter praised the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League runners-up after the match.

"What can you say? We were playing against one of the best teams in MLS," said Winter. "Salt Lake was the best team, for me, that we've played against."

Toronto did get a goal from Maicon Santos in the loss, his sixth of the year. But the club failed to play consistently against Real and needs to improve.

"We needed to fight harder all game instead of going on little bursts here and there," Zavarise said. "No excuses, it's got to be a lot better."

Vancouver (2-6-9) defeated the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, two weeks ago to end a 14-game slide that dated back to the season-opening 4-2 win over Toronto, but lost its match Saturday to Sporting Kansas City, 2-1.

"I always like to watch the video and analyze what we did. Obviously we're disappointed. We came off a win and wanted to follow up with another one, so it's back to work," Vancouver coach Tom Soehn said after the loss.

Camilio scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Whitecaps the lead but Sporting rallied for the win. Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit gave up a penalty, and left the match at halftime with a recurring groin injury.

He admitted Vancouver needs to improve, especially with the back-to-back games against Toronto on the horizon.

"We'll look at that and hopefully learn from these types of things, and how we can get back into games and continue our energy," DeMerit said, "because we didn't do that.

"We have two important games coming up."