FC Edmonton did not fare well against the best team in the North American Soccer League on the weekend.

Yet, that is not going to deter them from taking their best run at the top team in Major League Soccer on Wednesday.

FC Edmonton has a daunting task in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship, on the road, against the Vancouver Whitecaps (8 p.m., Sportsnet), but they are looking at it as a great opportunity.

“We’re in a no-lose situation, being the underdogs, playing against the big boys from Vancouver,” said FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for the players. Hopefully they grasp it. We are playing well, and even though we gave away some poor goals on Sunday, the team is still playing well, we’re scoring goals and we’re creating chances.

“Away from home, we’re a dangerous animal and if we can continue to create these chances and defend a little bit better, we may have a wee, outside chance (Wednesday) night.”

Edmonton is going into the game off a disappointing 4-2 loss at the New York Cosmos on Sunday. FC Edmonton conceded a goal inside of 90 seconds for the fourth time this season en route to the loss and struggled defensively with the absence of captain Albert Watson, who is nursing a leg injury and will not be available on Wednesday.

Conversely, the Whitecaps defeated the Philadelphia Union 3-0 at BC Place on Saturday and are currently the cream of the MLS.

However, Miller does not expect the Whitecaps to dress their best roster in the opening leg of the semifinal.

“There are a number of players that will play (Wednesday) that will have had first-team minutes, but the group won’t have played together as a team,” Miller said. “That’s the difficult thing about scouting them, is that (team expected Wednesday) haven’t played as a unit. But individually, they are very skillful and a quick team and like anyone who wears a Whitecaps strip (uniform) at the moment, has real good qualities about them.”

Wednesday’s game was originally scheduled to be the second half of the semifinal, but a spring snowstorm last week forced organizers to rearrange things.

The second leg will now take place May 20 in Edmonton, where the Eddies hope to still have a fighting chance of advancing.

“We don’t come here frightened, that’s for sure,” Miller said. “We come here respectful of the opposition, but certainly not frightened. The good thing about the Eddies this season is the pace that we have on the team. We just have to make sure that we’re defensively much tighter and make sure we score on the chances we create.”

The four goals conceded against the Cosmos were the most FC Edmonton has given up since Miller took over the squad. A similar defensive performance against the Whitecaps could make the second leg moot in the two-game, total-goal semifinal.

“I’d like to see us be a real, old-school FC Edmonton defensive organization with the group (Wednesday),” said Miller. “I want us to pay real attention to detail, players getting back behind the ball as quick as we can. If we can hang in there and keep the game as close as could possibly be, we give ourselves a fighting chance in Edmonton.

“If we’re careless and sloppy around our goal against this quality of opposition, we could suffer.”

With goals scored on the road acting as a tiebreaker in the series, Edmonton is not expected to simply park everyone behind the ball and defend for 90 minutes.

Their strength this year has been their ability to score and will push players forward.

“The mindset when you’re attacking is the same, you try to attack with pace and get people into the box,” Miller said. “That will never change. But we do have to be more focused defensively and better as a unit, because against this calibre of player, we have to be respectful of the opposition. They’re not at the top of the MLS Western standings because they’re a bad team.”

FC Game On

FC Edmonton at Vancouver Whitecaps, Tonight (8 p.m.) B.C. Place

TV: Sportsnet

Who to Watch

FC Edmonton: Tomi Ameobi

Scored a goal and set up another in the loss to the New York Cosmos on Sunday. They’ll need another good performance from the forward to have a chance against an excellent Whitecaps team.

Whitecaps: Octavio Rivero

The Uruguayan striker has a team-leading six goals this season and is the most dangerous player on a team with a wealth of offensive talent. Depending on the lineup Vancouver decides on, if he plays, Rivero will be a handful for the Edmonton defence.

Coming In:

FC Edmonton goes into the game off a disappointing 4-2 loss to the New York Cosmos on Sunday afternoon. Edmonton’s defence was ripped open by the Cosmos, who are the best team in the North American Soccer League. Not having captain and central defender Albert Watson in the lineup really hurt Edmonton. He will not be in the lineup against the Whitecaps, currently day-to-ay with an injury.

The Whitecaps go into the contest off a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Union, at home, on Saturday. The Whitecaps are currently the best team in Major League Soccer with six wins and 20 points from their first 11 games of the season.

This is the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal. The second leg takes place at Clarke Stadium on May 20. The winner of the two-game, total-goal series moves on to play the winner of the Montreal Impact-Toronto FC semifinal.