Nick Garcia has been in this situation before.

As one of Major League Soccer's most experienced defenders, Garcia has seen and done it all during his 10 seasons in the league, including helping the Kansas City Wizards win the MLS Cup in 2000.

Late-season playoff pushes are nothing new for the 30-yard-old native of Texas, which is good for Toronto FC, as the Canadian club will have the benefit of his experience and leadership as it tries to secure its first post-season berth in franchise history.

Toronto currently sits in a tie with the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids for seventh place overall in the MLS standings (with 30 points) and the second-last playoff berth.

But with eight games left in the campaign, Toronto's chances of qualifying for the post-season are far from assured — D.C. United (29 points) and Real Salt Lake (27) are both within striking distance.

With things so tight in the standings and five of their last eight games on the road, Toronto can ill afford to drop any more points — like it did in Saturday's 2-0 loss to Chivas USA in Los Angeles — for fear of dropping out of the playoff race entirely.

Garcia leading by example

And that's why Garcia has taken a more active leadership role on and off the field.

"For me, leadership, more vocalized grit, getting everyone pumped up, getting everybody ready to go," Garcia said of the things he's done to lead his teammates by example.

"If we already haven't noticed our situation and where we stand in the standings, reiterating that to the guys, the younger guys specifically, that this is what it's all about and we need to get into the playoffs."

Toronto visits the Seattle Sounders on Saturday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 3:30 p.m. ET) before wrapping up their three-game road swing on Sept. 5 against Colorado.

Danny Dichio update

Toronto FC coach Chris Cummins dropped a bombshell at Monday's practice when he told reporters that forward Danny Dichio, the club's all-time leading scorer, is too banged up physically to travel with the team to West Coast games. According to Cummins, the strain of a five-hour flight is too much for Dichio, who turns 35 in October, to handle.

While Cummins addressed the issue with reporters concerning the veteran striker, Dichio was less than forthcoming, turning down CBCSports.ca's requests for an interview after practice on Monday and Tuesday.

Several other players also declined to comment on the Dichio situation when asked by CBCSports.ca on Tuesday.

With so many young players on the team (including rookies Sam Cronin and Stefan Frei, who are regular starters), Garcia has made it a point to impart his experience and knowledge to them, stressing that the key to victory is proper preparation.

"In this league, the one thing I've learned over the past 10 years is that it isn't so much about the game as it is about the preparation leading up to it," Garcia explained. "The videos, the team talks, the preparation for being ready for what can be thrown in your face — that is the most important thing."

The Seattle game poses a tough challenge.

The Sounders sport a 6-2-4 record at home during their first season in the league and routinely draw over 29,000 fans to their games, making Qwest Stadium one of the most intimidating venues in the league for visiting teams.

Garcia has already paid a visit to Seattle this season as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes before being traded to Toronto in June, and while he concedes Qwest Stadium is "a pretty hostile place," it's not an impenetrable fortress.

The Sounders have "come together and played well, but at times, they haven't played well, so we need to go up there and disrupt them and get our points and get out of town," Garcia stated.