This is not a drill. The Vancouver Whitecaps are Western Conference Champions for the first time ever.
Jesper Sørensen’s men produced a scintillating performance from start to finish to book their place in Miami for the MLS Cup Final, with an own goal and a brace from Brian White enough to cap a 3–1 scoreline that does not do a remarkably dominant display justice.
It was a dream start to the Western Conference Final for Vancouver, as it took them only eight minutes to find the opening goal. A tidy passing move saw Andrés Cubas through on goal, and the Paraguayan—one of only a handful of players yet to find the net this season—had the awareness to play the ball across the face of goal. This allowed Brian White to bundle the ball over the line from a yard out, giving the Whitecaps a crucial advantage.
Minutes later, one became two, as Vancouver made their perfect start count in a way that few could have expected before the game. Strikes from Emmanuel Sabbi and Ali Ahmed caused defensive chaos, and after some penalty-box pinball, the ball ricocheted off the back of Pablo Sisniega and into the net.
Shell-shocked by their visitors’ early start, San Diego found themselves having to push forward to create chances. One move from a corner caused chaos as it took multiple deflections across the face of goal, leaving Takaoka stranded and completely unaware of the ball’s whereabouts as it bounced through his legs and out for another corner.
However, despite dominating possession for large periods, the hosts were unable to breach Vancouver’s defence. That proved to be costly, as the Whitecaps broke on the counterattack and made it 3–0 before half-time.
Ahmed, who had been electric throughout the first 45, brought the ball forward before beating Ian Pilcher for pace. His delivery across the face of goal was inch-perfect, allowing White yet again to bundle the ball into the net to cap a commanding start to the game.
With a monumental task ahead of his team, Mikey Varas made similar alterations to those LAFC made against Vancouver in the last round, electing to make three changes with Hirving Lozano, Luca de la Torre, and Franco Negri introduced into the fray. As was the case last week, those changes were rewarded when Lozano’s long-range effort ballooned up off Tate Johnson and over Takaoka into the back of the net—meaning, once again, it was game on at the hour mark.
Whenever they had the opportunity, Vancouver pushed forward looking for a fourth to kill the game. One run saw Ryan Gauld find Sabbi in space to shoot, but the American was spectacularly denied a certain goal by Manu Duah, after the first-overall 2025 draft pick nodded the ball over the bar from the goalmouth.
In the LAFC clash, the Whitecaps had struggled to maintain possession in the second half, ultimately ceding control of the game. However, in this match they were able to keep the ball, resulting in them being relatively untested for the remainder of the game.
One such move saw the Canadian side force a loose pass back towards Sisniega, and Gauld comfortably beat the keeper to the ball and found himself in possession with no one between the sticks. The captain was felled with his eyes on goal, leaving referee Joe Dickerson with no choice but to send the shot-stopper off and compound his miserable evening.
With caution well and truly thrown to the wind, San Diego pushed everybody forward in a desperate attempt to create chances and get themselves back into the game. Vancouver needed to be strong to see it out, and huge blocks from Ralph Priso and Takaoka respectively denied the home side any chance they may have had of spoiling the Whitecaps’ night.
So, it’s a rematch of their special Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final against Inter Miami, as the Whitecaps travel to Florida for the MLS Cup Final on Saturday, December 6th.
This team has been spectacular this season, with a plethora of brilliant stories and legendary tales already etched for years to come.
Hopefully, after a season of 52 games filled with special moments, they can produce one more memorable evening and clinch the biggest prize of all.
(Image: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Related
