Now no-one at the Whitecaps really wants to look that far ahead, at least publically. It's understandable. Call it jinxing things, call it taking it one game at a time and not wanting to be left eating crow. It's just the mentality that coaches and players always have.
That's been the mantra the past month, where it was five cup finals, then four, then ultimately one. The Caps ended that spell with four shiny trophies and a replay!
But it's hard not to look ahead at what could come after Dallas. A very winnable tie against Seattle, then you're just two games away from an actual Cup final. Carl Robinson's truly believes it's anyone's championship for the taking right now and there's no reason why the Whitecaps shouldn't be the ones to lift the trophy come December. He's fully aware of just what it would mean to the club to get past Dallas to kick everything off.
"[There's a] fantastic mentality in that group of players that I've got," Robinson told reporters at Vancouver airport on Monday before flying down on a charter flight to Dallas. "A great camaraderie, spirit. It's the fun part now. It's a totally different season. Everyone's got a chance to win the MLS Cup and we're one of ten teams that has. We'll look forward to it but we know that it's hard work ahead, but it's a challenge that we'll go and meet full on.
"Getting to the playoffs is good, but we don't stop there. We go ahead now and if we can get over this hurdle, and it's a very, very tough hurdle, what a game we've got. A battle against our rivals."
The prospect of a playoff game against Seattle hangs heavily on the horizon. Seattle v Portland last season was an epic encounter that got Cascadia buzzing. The Caps want their part of that and for Jordan Harvey, it would be the ultimate playoff experience.
"That's about as big as it gets for me," Harvey told AFTN on Monday. "Having a semi-final against your rival that's a bus ride away, I think that would huge. A freeway series! I grew up watching those in baseball with the Anaheim Angels and Dodgers. It would be fun."
Andy O'Brien agrees with Harvey but still doesn't want to look too far ahead until the job in hand in Texas is taken care of.
"The club has been crying out for a playoff game at home," O'Brien admitted. "There's a potential to create that on Sunday should we get through, but we've got to respect Dallas."
"We've had the experience of being in the playoffs before, in LA. It's a game that we're looking forward to. I think we go there in more confident mood than we did do two years ago in a same position."
The Caps have built some tasty feuds, possibly a better word than rivalries, with teams like Dallas and Real Salt Lake this season. While that may make for an entertaining battle, on and off the pitch, there's still nothing bigger and better for Caps' fans, players and pundits alike than to stick it to a Cascadian rival, and especially the self absorbed Seattle Sounders.
Russell Teibert has been at the Caps long enough to experience epic playoff battles with Portland in the D2 days, but a MLS clash with Seattle would be on a much more immense scale. For him, being in the playoffs should see every player raise his game though, no matter whether it's a Cascadian or Conference rival they're facing.
"We're talking about rivalries, we're talking about rivalries with Dallas," Teibert told reporters. "What a rivalry Seattle is, but we can't look that far ahead right now. We've got to take care of business down in Dallas.
"It's a battle. You can see that every time we play each other it's a real battle. We know it's going to be a fight but these are the games you play for. These are the games you really get up for and if you can't get up for these, then you can't get up for any."