VANCOUVER -- Kenny Miller made good on a pressure packed do-over to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps unbeaten. Stitched Authentic Jerseys . Millers goal on a penalty kick in the 58th minute gave the Whitecaps a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. He had to re-take the spot kick, after being successful on the first one, because teammate Darren Mattocks was still in the 18-yard box when Miller put the ball into the net. "It was a little tougher when youve scored the first one, and its easy after a miss," said Miller. "But sometimes that happens. It was a little bit of encroachment there. Sometimes, the referees dont make you take it again. But I was fortunate enough to put it in." The penalty kick was awarded after Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie was called for a hand ball in the box in the 56th minute. The Whitecaps improved their record to 2-0-2 in the young season before a sellout crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium. The Dynamo (2-1-0) suffered their first loss. "I dont think you could ask for much more (to start the season)," said Miller. He scored what proved to be the winning goal as he put the hosts ahead 2-0 with his spot kick, rolling a shot into the right corner of the net. He had put his first penalty-kick attempt over Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall. "(Miller), obviously, has got a cool head (to score on) the second penalty," said Vancouver rookie head coach Carl Robinson. "The first (penalty kick) was driving me mad. I just prayed that hed put it in, and he did. Hes a very clever player and a very cool character, so Im delighted for (Miller) but delighted for all the guys." Jordan Harvey, in the 14th minute, also scored for the Whitecaps while Ricardo Clark, in the 75th, was the lone Houston marksman. "I think we got the result we deserved," said Robinson. "But we showed a lot of heart and character in todays performance." The Whitecaps effectively negated Dynamo striker Will Bruin, who had shared the MLS scoring lead after netting three goals in his clubs first two games to start the season. "I thought we did okay. We just came out on the wrong end of the result," said Houston coach Dominic Kinnear. Harvey, a left back, gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead as he bounced Andy OBriens header past Hall. The assist was the first point in MLS for OBrien, a central defender, who joined the Whitecaps midway through the 2012 season. The play originated off a long cross from the left flank by Pedro Morales. "I like to think I can contribute, not just with assists and things like that," said OBrien. "But Im pleased that I could contribute on the goal." After assisting on the goal, OBrien made several timely defensive plays with some key plays and a blocked cross that he took in the groin. He lay on the ground briefly but continued to play well after. Houston started with a charge and forced Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted to knock a Giles Barnes header over the crossbar in the first minute. But that was the only attempt Houston put on net in the first half. Afterwards, aside from getting back-to-back corner kicks in the eighth minute -- the second of which Ousted leaped out to catch -- the Dynamo rarely penetrated a staunch Whitecaps defence. On the other hand, Hall was forced to make three saves in the first half, including two on Morales. The second stop on Morales came in stoppage time and prevented the Whitecaps from going into halftime with a bigger lead and considerable confidence. The Dynamo again attempted to get off to a strong start in the second half, but the Caps held them off fairly easily as Robinson switched to a diamond-shaped midfield that he had not used previously. "The system that we played today gave us more options when we had the ball," said OBrien. "It exposed the channel areas for (Mattocks) to run into, and hes not the guy that you want to be chasing with the ball a as a defender." Vancouvers penalty kick was awarded after Mattocks tried to deke Sarkodie a few yards inside the Houston box. Sarkodie fell and swept his arm out, getting a hand on the ball. Clark pulled the Dynamo within a goal as he headed home a Brad Davis free kick. But the Whitecaps managed to hold Houston off the scoreboard the rest of the way as Robinson made substitutions to keep his attackers fresh and the defenders and midfielders remained solid in their play. "Were going to concede goals, but its about how you bounce back and we didnt look (like we were) under any pressure," said Robinson. "They pushed time after time, and theyre a big, physical team, but while they were putting bigger players on, I was putting smaller players on." Morales, a 28-year-old Chilean midfielder who is in his first season with the Whitecaps, continued to draw rave reviews from his coach and teammates for his vision and passing ability. He now has a goal and two assists in his first four MLS career games. "Hes a joy to watch, he really is, and I think hes a joy to play with as well," said Robinson. "He just gives us a different dimension to our team." Notes: The Whitecaps honoured retired defender Y.P. Lee before the game. The former Korean international was presented with a photo of himself and his two children, taken prior to the final game of his career last season. Lee continues to live in Vancouver and works with the Whitecaps business operations while pursuing his education. a The game marked a rare time when a female official, Felisha Mariscal of Chula Vista., Calif., served as an assistant referee in an MLS contest. Mariscals brothers Apolinar (Polo) and Eduardo, who are twins, are also soccer officials. a Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit played the whole game a week after Robinson kept him at home to rest while the Caps earned a draw in Philadelphia. a Vancouver midfielder Gershon Koffie was solid in place of the injured Nigel Reo-Coker (concussion.) Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. Wholesale China Jerseys . The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup.Its been a tough week if you are a fan of Canadian soccer. On Saturday, the Vancouver Whitecaps came out of Dallas with their tails between their legs, having lost a crucial league game to fellow playoff contenders FC Dallas by a score of 3-1. The Whitecaps playoff hopes are dwindling, as they sit five points adrift of the final playoff place in the Western Conference. Later that night, after a battling first half performance, Toronto FC collapsed like a house of cards against the Portland Timbers, gifting the hosts their second goal on the way to a 4-0 drubbing. Only the Montreal Impact - 4-2 winners against the New England Revolution - spared Canadian fans blushes. Canadas mens national team also participated in their first training camp under new head coach Benito Floro last week. The camp included two friendly matches against Mauritania; the first game ended in a scoreless draw, while the second game saw a 10-man Canadian team (after Marcel de Jong was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half) lose 1-0. Yep...its been a tough week. After the two results against Mauritania, there was an inevitable outburst on social media, as fans (and those who simply enjoy criticizing Canadian soccer) took to Twitter to express their outrage at our failure to overcome a nation that most had never heard of. I could explain that this was just a training camp - a chance for Floro to take a look at every player at his disposal. I could further explain that losing to Mauritania is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. After all, if you cant experiment with players and new tactical ideas in friendly games played behind closed doors, when can you? But that would be insulting to supporters. Losing to Mauritania is an embarrassment, and something that should never happen. Trying to paper over the cracks by explaining the loss also distracts us from the real issue at hand. That issue is best captured by a quote from legendary basketball coach, John Wooden: Failure is not fatal; but failure to change might be. You see, no one knows if the CSA is doing anything to change the way players and coaches are developed in Canada. No one knows if there is a national curriculum in the works. No one knows when (or if) that curriculum will be completed, let alone how it will be implemented. No one knows if the Youth Coaching Licence that was proposed a short while ago is being developed, or if it has been put on the shelf indefinitely. No one knows if the next generation of players is going to be any better prepared to deal with the rigours of international football than the current crop. No one knows anything, because the CSA never tells anyone anything. Its been 10 months since the CSA hired Tony Fonseca as its Technical Direcctor, the man responsible for galvanizing and inspiring the nation - for putting us all on the same page so we can work collectively to develop talented players who can one day represent us on the international stage. Cheap Jerseys From China. In the last 10 months, have you heard anything from Fonseca about how he plans to address any of the issues outlined above? Have you seen a press release or technical update from the CSA, addressing where we are, where we need to be, and how we intend to bridge that gap? Have you seen or even heard of the CSAs technical development plan - how it aims to go about fixing our broken development system for youth soccer in Canada? Of course you havent. Because none of that information has been released by the CSA. And in the absence of that information, the only option you are left with is to try to answer those questions yourself. Which goes something like this: Are the CSA developing a national curriculum? No. When and how is that national curriculum going to be implemented? It isnt. When will the Youth Coaching Licence be completed and available for coaches to take? Never, because it doesnt exist and it never will. Does the CSA have a technical development plan? No. Is the CSA doing anything at all to fix the broken mess of a development system that sees us produce, year after year, a shallow pool of talent from which to choose our mens and womens national teams? No. Now, I know that these answers are entirely unfair - because I know that there is a lot of work being done by the CSA to address these issues. But you dont. And that is a major problem. Supporters need to know what the CSA is doing to fix our problems. Supporters need to be able to read the CSAs technical development plan so that they can not only understand it, but more importantly, so that they can champion it. Not even the most ardent supporters can rally around a team that is reeling like our mens national team program is. Winless in 2013, with three draws, seven losses and only one goal scored. Supporters need to know that steps are being taken to address our problems - problems that extend all the way to grassroots soccer. If the measures being implemented require 10-15 years to come to bear fruit, at the very least, fans can support the CSA over that period of time and do their part to facilitate change, rather than wringing their hands in frustration because they suspect nothing is being done. Two very simple words of advice for the CSA: full disclosure. Spell out your plans in black and white; tell the fans what you are doing to affect change in Canada - and tell them often. Otherwise, fans will do what theyve always done in the absence of information. They will assume that you are doing nothing. ' ' '