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FCD hopes to punch playoff ticket against Vancouver

Oct 3, 2014 - 8:20 PM Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - FC Dallas will aim to secure a playoff berth on Saturday with a win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place.

Dallas enters the match in fourth place in the Western Conference, one point back of third-place Real Salt Lake.

And if Oscar Pareja's men are able to claim three points on Saturday, they will lock up a postseason spot for the first time since 2011.

FCD is coming off a 3-1 win over Seattle last time out, with David Texeira providing a huge boost for the club by scoring two of the goals.

Texeira was making his first start for Dallas since May 7, and he made Pareja look awfully smart by netting a brace against the Sounders.

"Forwards have good moments and bad moments in their career but the most important thing is to always be [ready] and always expecting more and wanting more," said Texeira. "I wanted more so as I said before I just wanted to help the team and be ready and I think I did a good job."

Texeira's goals handed Dallas a 2-1 lead on Seattle in the 78th minute, and Blas Perez continued an impressive run of form with a goal two minutes from time to seal the win, giving him four goals in the past three matches.

Dallas may be the team looking to punch its postseason ticket, but the match is hugely important to Vancouver as well with the club clinging to the fifth and final playoff spot, one point clear of Portland with four matches to play.

The Whitecaps lost their previous two games before getting things going in the right direction last weekend with a 2-1 comeback win against Real Salt Lake.

A 57th-minute goal from Nat Borchers had Vancouver staring at a third successive defeat. However, Pedro Morales scored a pair of penalty kicks in the span of 15 minutes to turn the match around.

The result allowed the Whitecaps to jump over Portland and into fifth place, and defender Jordan Harvey knows what kind of effort will be required to hang on to a playoff berth.

"We need to step up the intensity, we saw a little bit of that today, and keep going," Harvey said of what the team's approach needs to be the rest of the season. "That's one game. We could find ourselves in the position we were last week in one week from now. We need to refocus and do the same things we've been doing and carry out these last four games."

There is plenty at stake for both teams in Saturday's match, but if recent history is any indication, Dallas will feel confident with the club having won seven of the 10 all-time meetings between the sides.