Portland Timbers FC Diego Chara (second from right) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC during the second half of MLS playoff soccer action in Vancouver on Nov. 8, 2015. It's a defeat that stills gnaws at the Vancouver Whitecaps. After finishing second in Major League Soccer's Western Conference last season to secure the first home playoff date in franchise history, things were set up perfectly for the club to make a run. But as it happens so often in sports and life, things didn't go according to plan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER - It's a result that stills gnaws at the Vancouver Whitecaps.

After finishing second in Major League Soccer's Western Conference last season to secure the first home playoff date in franchise history, the club was set up to make a memorable run. Instead, a home defeat to the rival Portland Timbers denied the Whitecaps a place in the conference final.

"It was a tough loss. It was one of the toughest of my career," said veteran defender Jordan Harvey. "I don't really forget those things."

The 2016 season has been a continuation of that disappointment for the Whitecaps (9-15-9), who were eliminated from playoff contention at the beginning of the month and have won just one game in the league since July.

But with their schedule set to wrap up on Sunday, they have a chance to end on a high note by getting a little revenge.

Portland (12-13-8) heads into the final weekend of the regular season at B.C. Place needing a win to guarantee a playoff spot as one of four teams jockeying for the final three positions in the West.

The Timbers could still make the playoffs with a tie or a loss, but would need a lot of help.

"There's a little bit of a silver lining there," said Harvey, who was named Vancouver's player of the year this week. "We've had a tough season. This is a game where we have (a chance at) a little bit of redemption."

The stakes were much higher last year, with the Whitecaps needing just a home win over the Timbers to advance to the conference final after fighting to a draw against its bitter rival in Oregon the previous week.

With a crowd of more than 27,000 roaring them on, it looked like simply a matter of time before the Whitecaps would find a breakthrough as they buzzed around the Timbers' goal in the game's first 20 minutes.

But things fell completely off the rails from there.

Speedy winger Kekuta Manneh limped off with an injury midway through the first half, and Portland scored soon after to grab a valuable away goal in what would turn into a 2-0 victory for the eventual MLS Cup champions.

"It hurt a lot. It hurt me a lot," Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted said of how last season ended. "That's why I want to go in on Sunday and hopefully pay back a little bit."

The Whitecaps' problems have run deep this year with goals against, scoring woes and an abysmal home record all part of why the players will be cleaning out their lockers early next week.

Head coach Carl Robinson has some big decisions to make in the off-season, including the future of captain Pedro Morales, by far the club's highest paid player, with his contract set to expire.

"We don't want to be where we are, but we have to accept it and go back to the drawing board," said Robinson. "Things haven't worked out this year for one reason or another. We've got to be open about it and honest about it."

And like his players, Robinson would like to turn the page on a crushing defeat that is still raw nearly a year later with a good performance on Sunday.

"Any time you lose a game of football it's difficult. We'd done so well. We set ourselves up perfectly," he said. "Does it sit well? No."

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2016