LAFC's Harvey preparing for emotional Vancouver return

Jordan Harvey's emotions will be high Saturday at B.C. Place Stadium -- but for unusual reasons.

Harvey logged 179 regular-season games and four more in the playoffs over seven Major League Soccer seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps (3-2-1). But he is slated to suit up for expansion side Los Angeles FC (2-2-0) when his new and old teams clash.

"It's going to be emotional," Harvey told Postmedia. "I built my family there. I built my home there. ... The most important moments of my life up until now happened in Vancouver."

The 34-year-old Mission Viejo, Calif., native signed with LAFC as a free agent after he lost his starting left back spot with the Caps near the end of last season.

The Whitecaps will pay tribute to Harvey's longevity in a pre-game ceremony.

Harvey holds Vancouver club records for games and minutes played, but it remains to be seen how much playing time he will get Saturday. He has played sparingly with L.A, logging just eight minutes in two appearances.

"For me, it's just keep grinding, keep getting better and, hopefully, minutes will come," he told Postmedia.

"Mostly, for him, it's gonna be a lot of excitement playing again here in Vancouver," Whitecaps captain Kendall Waston told reporters. "But now, being a rival, during the 90 minutes, it's gonna be a war. After that, everybody's friends."

L.A. comes to Vancouver after dropping a 4-3 decision to its in-stadium neighbor, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and suffering a 5-0 setback to Atlanta. But Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson does not expect the visitors to be fazed by their losses.

"(They) don't get too carried away when they win the first two games and they won't get too carried away when they lose the next two games," he said.

Robinson said the Caps need to be wary of forwards Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi, who have each scored three goals.

L.A., which is playing its first six games on the road, has gone 143 minutes without a goal. But coach Bob Bradley is reasonably content.

"In four games, I think we've seen enough good things to know we're going in an excellent direction," Bradley told his club's website.

--Field Level Media