Gershon Koffie, who scored a cracker of a goal from distance back in late May, barely shows up on the basic offensive stat sheet these days — nothing but a row of zeros recorded under goals, assists and shots on goal in 10 consecutive starts.

But the Vancouver Whitecaps’ soft-spoken, hard-tackling midfielder has become as indispensable as any of head coach Carl Robinson’s regulars.

The man whose coaches in Vancouver have continually harped on him to play with more consistency has become something of a metronome in the middle of the park. Over the last couple of months, he just ticks along with the precision and consistency of a musician’s pendulum.

Overshadowed at times by Argentine bulldog Matias Laba as a holding midfielder, the 24-year-old Ghanian, who has morphed from promising youngster to seasoned veteran, quietly, and with little fanfare, plays a steady game that is all about timely interceptions, ball-winning tackles and smart distribution.

Last Saturday, however, Koffie had to be noticed. He seemed to be all over the pitch in the Caps’ 1-0 win over FC Dallas, disrupting any attempt by the visitors to play through the middle of the pitch.

“He’s found a vein of form where he’s playing at his levels,” says Robinson, who is expected to go with Koffie and several other first-choice players tonight in the second leg of the Canadian championship final at BC Place Stadium against the Montreal Impact.

“I demand those levels every game. I have been on him, sometimes a little bit too hard, but I know what the kid can do. He’s got fantastic talent and I want him to be the best player on the pitch every day. He was on Saturday, without a doubt. He won his battles, he won his tackles, he controlled the game for us.

“He sets that standard and my job is to try to get him to maintain that standard.”

Off the field, Koffie is an intriguing character. He is almost shy at times, though he will flash a big, toothy smile. A lover of hip hop and reggae music, he showed up for training Tuesday in beige Capris and a T-shirt with his own stylized initials on the front, the same ones cut into the close-cropped hair on the side of his head.

Koffie, who signed with the Caps in September 2010 when they were finishing up a USSF Division II season and preparing to join Major League Soccer in 2011, now has 125 career MLS games under his belt.

While he scored three goals in each of the 2012 and 2013 seasons and picked up five assists, he’s playing more of a defensive stopper role now. He has just that one goal this season and no assists in 20 games, 16 of them starts.

“If the coaches want me more offensive I will do it, but so far they just want Matias (Laba) and I to sit in front of the back four and just be disciplined.”

His influence is undeniable. He does the dirty work, the crucial regaining of possession that allows the likes of Kekuta Manneh, Cristian Techera and Pedro Morales to shine.

“My teammates motivate me a lot. And off the field, I have this godfather back home (in Ghana) that I call and he talks to me about God a lot, that when you’re down, you should keep playing. So I give thanks to God. But my teammates and the coaching staff, they’ve been helping me.”