VANCOUVER - The Major League Soccer playoffs feel different for midfielder Ali Ahmed and the Vancouver Whitecaps this season.

A dominant 3-0 win over FC Dallas on Sunday showed why.

From the first whistle to the last, the 'Caps controlled Game 1 of the first-round, best-of-three series, outshooting the visitors 22-0 and not allowing a single shot on target.

"I just feel like there's just a different feeling this year, a different belief this year, heading into these playoff matches," Ahmed said.

"The last few years was the guys' first few times, so we didn't know what to expect. But this year, just everybody's confident in every game that the standard is we go in to win every game."

For Dallas, Sunday's loss was humbling, said head coach Eric Quill.

“They outplayed us in every phase

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