Whitecaps closing in on top spot in conference (Oct 15, 2017)

Many soccer watchers are surprised by the turnaround this season for the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Coach Carl Robinson isn't one of them.

A year after finishing in eighth place and missing the playoffs by seven points, the Whitecaps can clinch the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference and a bye in the conference semifinals by beating the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at BC Place in Vancouver.

The Whitecaps (15-11-6, 51 points) are three points clear of second-place Sporting Kansas City, which lost to Houston on Wednesday.

Vancouver, 10-15-19 a year ago, was picked to finish in eighth place again this season by SB Nation soccer bloggers and ninth by MLSSoccer.com.

"It's about proving people wrong every time," Robinson told the Vancouver Sun after a Whitecaps' training session this week. "No one gave us probably a chance to get into the playoffs to start with. I did.

"The target I set for the group at the start of the preseason was to get into the playoffs. We've managed that. No one probably gave us a chance to play in a home game. We've done that. We want to try and finish in the top two, we want to try and win (the conference). We know it's not going to be easy but we have to take care of our own business and we get a chance to do that on Sunday."

The Whitecaps, who lost 3-2 at San Jose back in March, still have work to do, their coach said.

"It's a massive game for the club, we know that," Robinson told the Sun. "We've managed to get a playoff spot. The boys deserve a lot of credit for that.

"But we're not stopped there. We want to finish the job off now."

The Earthquakes postseason hopes are much dicier.

Eighth-place San Jose (12-14-6, 42 points), which trails FC Dallas by one point for the sixth and final playoff spot, and seventh-place Real Salt Lake have identical records, but the Earthquakes trail Real by 16 in goal differential, MLS's second tiebreaker.

Salt Lake plays at Colorado on Sunday, while FC Dallas faces the Sounders in Seattle.

"It's a very important game for us, and we're playing against a very good team," San Jose midfielder Jahmir Hyka told the team's website this week. "The table doesn't lie. So, we have to be prepared, 100 percent."

San Jose won its last must-win game, 2-1 over Portland two weeks ago.

"It was all or nothing," Quakes striker Danny Hoesen said after the win, according to the (San Jose) Mercury News. "Everybody knew it."

On Sunday, the Earthquakes face another all-or-nothing situation, but this time on the road, where the team has struggled in 2017.

San Jose is 3-12-1 on the road this season and hasn't won an away game since May.

The Earthquakes would be eliminated on Sunday with a loss and wins by Dallas and Salt Lake.

San Jose hosts Minnesota United on Oct. 22 to conclude the regular season.

Vancouver's finale is in Portland the same day.