Tuesday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps moved one step closer to their third straight Canadian Championship trophy, with a 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) win over Pacific FC.

Having not played in a competitive match for 20 days, the Whitecaps had the luxury of fielding a well-rested XI that was reasonably close to their best possible team. In order to meet the Canadian contingent in the squad, Isaac Boehmer had the start between the sticks, as has become custom. Meanwhile, Ryan Raposo and Sam Adekugbe featured in wide roles within what was a 3-5-2 shape for Vanni Sartini in possession, and a 3-4-3 in defence.

From the moment the lineup sheet dropped, it was clear that Pacific, the underdog visitors in the tie, were simply trying to stay solid in their shape and hoping for an opportunistic goal. The Tridents started a litany of defensive minded players with few attacking threats, which was representative of the recent struggles the Island side has faced to score goals of any kind.

If Pacific had one job, it was avoiding an early goal against. Unfortunately for the visitors, their nightmare situation became a reality in the 11th minute, after Georges Mukumbilwa played dangerously towards his own goal, leading to a Whitecaps opportunity in front of Emil Gazdov.

The Pacific keeper failed to handle a strong shot from Brian White, and Ryan Gauld was there to clean up the pieces in front of goal. It was the second goal of the tie for Gauld, who had given the blue and white their advantage early in the second half last month on the island.

GOAL 🗻

Ryan Gauld gives #VWFC a 1-0 lead (2-0 on aggregate) vs. @PacificFCCPL in this TELUS #CanChamp semi-final pic.twitter.com/a9KYhwJQPV

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 28, 2024

Eager to change the tides at the half, being down 2-0 on aggregate, Pacific skipper James Merriman brought on Adonijah Reid and Marco Domínguez, looking to force the issue and chip away at the deficit. This worked to good effect through the first 20 minutes, as the match opened up significantly for the visitors, and they were able to create a number of quality looks in front of goal.

Overall though, Pacific was unable to find the breakthrough they were looking for, and the match settled to a cagey pace later in the second half, one that only benefited the home side.

Pacific had one last gasp in the 84th minute, as Adonijah Reid advanced deep in the Vancouver area before playing a dangerous ball across the face of goal. As it happened, no one was there to receive the ball for the Tridents, and their Canadian Championship dream slipped from their grasp for good, with Vancouver securing their third straight birth in the finals, facing Toronto FC.

(Image Credit: Canada Soccer)