VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper Brad Knighton says the club must change its culture in the wake of a heartbreaking loss to the Montreal Impact in the Amway Canadian soccer final. He wants the Whitecaps to do away with their trend of giving up draws and losses late in games and instead lock wins down. "Until we can do that as a team and as players, collectively, were not going to go any farther than we are right now," he said. In other words, the Whitecaps need to move on from Wednesdays 2-2 draw with the Impact, which gave Montreal the title on the basis of more away goals. Next stop for Knighton and company: New York City and Saturdays Major League Soccer match with the talent-laden Red Bulls (7-4-4). Knighton said a good result is crucial to determining how the eighth-place Whitecaps (3-4-4) will fare the rest of the season as they attempt to move up the Western Conference standings. "Its something thats needed now," said Knighton, who is expected to start. "We cant wait for more results to hopefully go our way. We need to start taking accountability, putting points on the board and moving up the table or its going to be a long season here." Accordingly, Knighton called on the Whitecaps to get tougher in one-on-one situations and win more battles for the ball on set pieces, such as corner kicks. Montreal scored its decisive goal Wednesday off a corner. "I think were soft at times," said Knighton. "We dont get enough into people to throw them off (so that), maybe, they dont get the header. "At the end of last year, we were giving away late, soft goals on set pieces and it has continued this year. That just comes down to a mentality, a desire, to not let the person beside you win a ball." Knighton also wants the Whitecaps to start excelling on the road where, in league play, they are winless and have only scored three goals. "If you cant get points on the road in this league youre not really going to go anywhere," he said. Saturdays contest and games over the next month, he added, will serve as a character test for the Whitecaps. But Vancouver defender Andy OBrien said recent results must be put in perspective. "The last two games, weve drawn, but there is a feeling that weve been annihilated -- and I dont think thats the case," said OBrien. The Whitecaps fired 20 shots at Montreal in Wednesdays Canadian final. They are looking to finish more of their chances after missing on several opportunities in recent games. But OBrien and his back-line mates are likely to spend a considerable amount of time defending the Eastern Conference-leading Red Bulls, who are riding a seven-game unbeaten streak and boast such stars as French icon Thierry Henry, fellow ex-English Premier League star Tim Cahill and Brazilian midfielder Juninho. The Red Bulls have scored 22 goals this season, good for a share of the lead with Portland, while the Whitecaps have recorded 14 in total. Meanwhile, Vancouver will have to shine without several regulars. Interim captain Nigel Reo-Coker must sit out a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation, striker Darren Mattocks will be away on international duty, and midfielders Daigo Kobayashi (ankle) and Gershon Koffie (thigh) are injured. "Its a good chance for the boys to put a claim for a (lineup) spot," said rarely-used midfielder Matt Watson, who is expected to draw into the lineup. A good result could also bolster beleaguered coach Martin Rennies chances of keeping his job. Rennie has faced increasing criticism over tactics, lineup decisions and strategy, such as playing for a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Canadian final in Montreal, as the Caps did, when away goals effectively counted as double. But Rennie said he feels no more pressure than he ever has a coach, and expressed confidence that the team is close to being where it needs to be. "We know we have to pick things up in MLS and get good results," he said. Notes: The Red Bulls get a 22-day break in league play after facing the Whitecaps. Custom Minnesota Wild Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Custom Hockey Jerseys Outlet . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.customjerseyshockey.com/ . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Custom Vancouver Canucks Jerseys . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Custom Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Louisville coach Rick Pitino said he specifically picked out the 13th-ranked Cardinals early-season schedule to provide maximum competition for his talented roster.Pitino said he and his staff chose out-of-conference games against teams that had talent returning, veteran leadership and a good RPI.Enter Evansville.The Purple Aces travel to Louisville for a Friday clash (7 p.m. ET) at the KFC Yum! Center.What we did was, we wanted people who had at least three starters back when we were scheduling, we wanted teams with experience and we wanted teams we thought would be a Top 100 RPI team, Pitino said. And when you watch Evansville on tape, you realize they are so well-coached.Why all the focus on schedule the right kind of teams?We made it a goal of ours to have the No. 1 schedule in the nation, Pitino said. We also wanted to have our best recruiting class, and we obviously want to reach our potential come March. And playing a tough schedule does that for us.As good as the Louisville coaches think Evansville will be, the Aces were picked just ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.I think our guys understand, Aces coach Marty Simmons said. They hear the talk and people know that we lost a great group of young men through graduation. Weve got a really good group, and they want to do really well. I think theyll use it as motivation.Evansville finished the 2016 season 25-9, its best season in decades, falling to Northern Iowa in the championship of the Missouri Valley tournament.The Aces notched wins last season against Belmont, UC Irvine, Murray State and Illinois State. Their games against major conference teams last season were a 74-64 loss vs. Providence and an 89-76 at Arkansas.Senior guard Jaylon Brown leads Evansvilles returners. He averaged 10.8 points per game last season and is the floor general for the Purple Aces.He will square off against Louisvilles leader, junior point guard Quentin Snider, whom Pitino recently described as the only returning player who has proved something in a national game.ddddddddddddLouisvilles lineup is fairly inexperienced, but Evansville has to make up for the loss of its leading scorer, leading rebounder and leading shot-blocker.Friday night will be the debut -- or rather return -- of a classic brand of Pitino basketball. The Cardinals coach recently said he is in the final stages of his Hall of Fame career, and he wants to go out while coaching his favorite brand of basketball -- up-tempo, full-court press and man-to-man defense. It was the style Pitino had during his final two seasons at Kentucky in 1996 and 1997.The Louisville coaching staff installed the faster system during the offseason, and the Cardinals first two exhibition games were played at a much faster pace than their fans are used to seeing.Pitino said he expects Louisvilles early-season games to be very fast-paced -- and a little sloppy.Interesting enough, William and Mary and Evansville will play up-tempo, they screen a lot and their ball movement is great, and they play like us with a lot of motion, Pitino said.The coach said Louisville fans will have to be patient with the Cardinals as they will be turning the ball over and making a few more mistakes early in the season as they get used to this new approach.Am I a little nervous and apprehensive? Yes I am, Pitino said. Even after 40 years of coaching, Ill still be nervous, but Ill be the only one, everyone else will be fine, but Ill be nervous.Louisville returns Snider, power forward Jaylen Johnson and post Mangok Mathiang as players with starting experience. A pair of super sophomores, shooting guard Donovan Mitchell and small forward Deng Adel, are back, too. ' ' '