CREDIT: USA TODAY
Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo is second in the scoring title this year, largely in part to his individual skill on the ball.

When Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club took on Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on September 21, it was a turning point in their season. They managed a massive 3-0 win to put them back in the mix in the Western Conference playoff picture. They are only a couple points out of the last playoff spot with a game at hand. The 'Caps have performed this well this year, even though the standings don't show it.

Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo has been a fantastic signing. In the aforementioned Montreal game, he had two goals. The first happened late in the game when his Whitecaps were playing behind the ball and not trying to risk anything. Camilo took a long ball from one of his defenders and managed to beat several defenders on the run, eventually slotting it in just on the left side of the eight-yard box. The second happened even later in the game, when he scored a cross-body screamer from 30 years out. Canadian soccer supporters have been lucky with such exciting strikers as Camilo and Marco Di Vaio (for Montreal). Although Di Vaio was kept off the scoresheet in this game, he is still leading the Brazilian in goals on the season. The point is, Camilo is such a talent that he has scored many goals by singlehandedly running at defenders. Without Camilo's goals, Vancouver would be close to last.

That's not to say the defenders haven't been holding their weight. Their total goals against total has been pretty stable all year, as they are usually middle of the road. Captain Jay Demerit has been great again from centre back, while the additions of former top-level player Nigel Reo-Coker in midfield has helped their transition play and ability able to control games, as they had trouble with that last year. But players like Reo-Coker aren't very versatile, as injures has caused manager Martin Rennie to play players out of position out of desperation. For example, Reo- Coker has started as a fullback four times this year, with his team only winning one of those matches.

The club seems to be in a good spot this year, but Major League Soccer's format has not been kind to the 'Caps. Vancouver plays in the Western Conference, a much stronger division than the Eastern version. In fact, teams in the West will likely need an extra two wins (six points) more than Eastern Conference teams to make the playoffs. Vancouver would be in the playoffs if the league was one table. Instead they sit five points out of a playoff spot. Besides, Vancouver and Montreal only play each other once this year — there is a great chance the Whitecaps would beat the Impact at home if the schedule limited teams from playing outside their conference so much.

Hopefully Vancouver can eke it out. The first Canadian club to make the playoffs last year could be flying the flag with Montreal come this October.