VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Vancouver Whitecaps' goalscoring woes have been well documented of late and they don't seem to be showing signs of changing any time soon.

Strip away three penalty kicks and an own goal, and the Whitecaps have managed just seven goals in their 16 games since the World Cup break.

'Caps coach Carl Robinson is well aware that the stats don't make good reading, and with goals so hard to come by, once Vancouver fall behind in matches they appear increasingly unlikely to find a way back into games. It was the same story at Providence Park on Saturday, where after a strong start, Vancouver conceded the first goal to the Portland Timbers en route to a crushing 3-0 loss.

"In the early part of the season we always scored the first goal," Robinson told reporters in Portland. "We were a team that was playing with confidence and creating chances. [Today] we conceded the first goal and we lost our way a little bit.

"The second goal was always going to be the crucial goal and fortunately enough for them, they got it and unfortunately for me, I didn't get it."

The Whitecaps have conceded the first goal in 11 of their 29 matches so far this season, recording just one win and seven points in those games.

Tellingly for Vancouver, the five teams leading the MLS percentage stats in that particular category are the five teams above them in the Western Conference.

Is it simply a case that when the Whitecaps fall behind, their heads go down and they can't snap out of it?

"You could be right," Robinson pondered. "We have to get a goal somewhere to start maybe, because when we go a goal down we're probably not playing with the same energy or desire or confidence that we should do. But we've got to learn, because we're not going to always score the first goal."

Veteran center back Andy O'Brien acknowledged that Vancouver didn't react well again to going a goal down. But he feels part of the problem may lie in his side trying too hard to find the opener, knowing that when they do, they've gone on to win seven games this year, taking 25 points in the process.

Find more 'Caps coverage at WhitecapsFC.com

"[Portland's opening] goal took the wind out of our sails because it was their first attempt," O'Brien said of Diego Valeri's strike in Saturday's loss. "It was disappointing how we reacted to the goal. It’s something we have to take on the chin and dust it off. Maybe in that first half-hour we were trying to play and get the ideal goal."

For goalkeeper David Ousted, it's all about the team's mentality. No matter what the stats may be saying, he believes that the mindset should always be that a one-goal deficit isn't beyond the Whitecaps' reach.

"I still feel that 1-0 is 1-0," Ousted told reporters. "It's one goal. It's one chance that's got to be put away but [that said], it would be nice to just get ahead in a game and let them chase a little bit."