By Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic and Samuel Rowan

Wednesday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps secured their third straight Canadian Championship title with a penalty shootout victory over Toronto FC.
It was not a particularly pretty match from Vancouver’s perspective, as John Herdman’s side came in with a very pointed match plan. As a result, TFC dominated possession and were able to stifle Vancouver when they gained the ball, keeping Vancouver’s dynamic front three far from their best for most of the night.

Yet, despite Vancouver being second-best in most aspects, they were still able to grit their teeth and keep things tightly contested.

Undoubtedly the biggest moment during the match itself came in the 38th minute, as Vancouver’s Canadian keeper Isaac Boehmer stoned Federico Bernardeschi from the penalty spot after Mathías Laborda fouled Richie Laryea inside the box.

It was a great moment for the Okanagan Falls native, and it led to Vancouver’s best play of the night. The Whitecaps started to find some transition opportunities against a questionable TFC backline, although they couldn’t convert on those looks, like on the excellent Fafà Picault chance immediately after Boehmer’s save on Bernardeschi.

Ultimately, neither team were able to find a goal through ninety-plus minutes of action, in rather typical cup final fashion, and so spot kicks wound up being the decider.
The early stages of the penalty kicks were nervy, as both Matty Longstaff and Stuart Armstong missed in the second round. Crucially, Sebastian Berhalter placed a perfect penalty in the side netting for Vancouver’s third round, while Kosi Thompson’s attempt was saved by Isaac Boehmer.

#CanChamp? MORE LIKE VAN CHAMP!!! https://t.co/EzXH0scJzA

— The Third Sub (@The3rdSub) September 26, 2024

Ultimately, Thompson’s miss wound up being the decider, as Bjorn Inge Utvik converted a perfect fifth penalty to win it before TFC had the chance to reply with a final kick, securing the Voyageur’s Cup for Vancouver.

Here are three (plus one) thoughts as we saw it inside BC Place.

Isaac Boehmer continues ascendancy in memorable performance:

Historically, the Whitecaps seem to have a knack for producing young Canadian keepers, and those keepers seem to have a knack for showing up in big moments for their club.

Isaac Boehmer was no exception on Wednesday night at BC Place, as the 22-year-old was far and away Vancouver’s most important player, not only for his penalty save(s), but also for his aggressive and confident demeanour between the sticks throughout the ninety-plus minutes and penalties.

BERNA DENIED 🙅‍♂️#VWFC GK Isaac Boehmer with a HUGE SAVE on the #TFClive attacker to keep this TELUS #CanChamp final at 0-0 💥

A big-time moment for a big-time ‘keeper 😎

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/i1Sv4JTrTU

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024

Vanni Sartini and his staff took a big step this season by entrusting this competition to their second choice keeper, and boy, did Boehmer repay that trust in this final.
Sartini has talked about the fact that Boehmer possesses all the “power” and athleticism you could want in a goalkeeper, it was simply the other parts of his game that needed to come along: his decision making, his tactical awareness, and so on. While Boehmer has made big steps in those areas, Sartini feels there is still room for more improvement – in possession, for example, was an area he highlighted post-game.

Yet, sometimes in a match like this one, you simply need a keeper that is going to make big saves when it matters most. This is something that has been a bit of an issue with their first choice keeper this year, and it’s hard not to wonder when Boehmer could get his MLS opportunity, especially with Takaoka out of contract at the end of the season.

Ultimately, this is a night that Boehmer will never forget, and deservedly so. It was special to see a local kid who has worked his way through the full breadth of the Whitecaps academy system make his way to the first team and put in an MVP performance in his side’s third straight national title.
Moments like that are truly memorable, and it was a joy to be able to watch that pitchside. – Sam

Toronto’s tactical plan stifles Whitecaps attack:

When previewing this game, there was a lot to suggest the Whitecaps could be in for a good performance. Especially given that they had defeated Toronto 4-0 in April, that was a good sign for the Whitecaps, who matched up well with this Toronto side.

In particular, it felt like the Whitecaps could feast in transition, as Toronto is a team that employs aggressive rotations out of possession, with players tasked with changing roles as soon as they lose the ball. Against a Whitecaps side that has torched teams in transition all year, that was seen as a fruitful matchup.

Certainly, TFC were aware of that, and they altered their tactical plan to reflect it.

Specifically, they tweaked two things.

First, they changed their shape out of possession, as instead of defending in a 4-4-2 as they usually do, they switched to a 5-3-2. What that meant is that since they were attacking in a 3-4-2-1, they had far less to do to off the ball to get back into shape – essentially, their two wing backs had to drop back, and one of their two attacking midfielders, usually Jonathan Osorio, had to fall back to help create that midfield trio.

That made a huge difference, as usually one of the wing backs usually has to drop all the way back into the back three to make it a four, which can create some awkward defensive transitions, especially if you lose the ball high up the field.

Then, secondly, TFC employed an extremely aggressive counter-press, as they looked to try and put the Whitecaps under pressure every time they lost the ball. That, in particular, was quite the risky venture as the Whitecaps are a team that loves to play through presses – usually, they struggle against low blocks, instead, so if TFC’s defensive shape was ever out of line, they could’ve paid a heavy price.

Despite that, TFC’s counter-press instead caused all sorts of problems for the Whitecaps, as they made it tough for them to connect passes from out of the back into the midfield. Because of that, they were forced to play more long balls after many attempts to try and strengthen their midfield failed (including two formation changes to a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-2-2 from their usual 3-4-3), and that played right into Toronto’s hands, as their centre backs are solid aerially.

Well hard luck to Toronto who, from the portions of the match I was able to watch, put forth the best possible performance their squad was capable of. Unfortunately for them the Whitecaps have the mandate of heaven. #vwfc

— Caleb Wilkins (@wilkins_caleb24) September 26, 2024

Thanks to those two main tactical tweaks, Toronto ended up controlling most of this game. That’s reflected in the stats, as they ended up out-shooting Vancouver 15-7 (including a 7-2 edge in shots on target), had three big chances to Vancouver’s zero, and finished with 2.18 xG to Vancouver’s 0.31, and held 65.1% of possession.

On most nights, that’d be more than enough to win, so TFC will be kicking themselves to think they left this game empty-handed, especially when considering the chances they had to win in regular time.

For what it’s worth, the Whitecaps were also not playing to their maximum capacity, as it was revealed after that Ryan Gauld, Brian White, Ali Ahmed and Andrés Cubas were carrying knocks – had they been fully fit, perhaps they’d be better suited to deal with TFC’s pressure.

At the same time, the Whitecaps have proven in recent weeks that they can still throttle teams when key pieces are missing or not at their best, and have done well to adjust, so in this case, credit has to be given to TFC for the tactical tweaks they made, as it almost paid off for them. – Alex

Learning how to win ugly:

Good teams win big games.

Ultimately, while some might remember good performances in defeat, at the end of the day, teams are judged on how they execute in key matches.
The Whitecaps have learned that the hard way in recent years – they’ve had some of their best performances in losing efforts, especially in big games, especially in MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup play.

Because of that, while this performance will not be one they’ll look back on fondly, they can be proud of how they executed in key moments.

For a team that has to essentially play some of their best games to even have a chance of winning these sorts of games in the past – a top performance in the 2022 Canadian Championship final was just enough for them to win on penalties, and an even better showing in the 2023 final still only got them past CF Montréal with a tight 2-1 win – this win is actually quite important even if they didn’t win with the same panache.

As top teams around the world have shown, sometimes winning big games and finals is about showing up and getting the job done on the day, instead letting their results do the talking in the end.

Often, it’s felt like the Whitecaps have needed to be at their best to get the job done in these sorts of games, as anything but that often puts them at the risk of a letdown.

THE MOMENT ✨#VWFC win the 2024 TELUS #CanChamp, beating #TFClive on penalties with this winning strike 👇 pic.twitter.com/NS13Ugwmwm

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024

In this game, however, despite facing the potential of a heartbreaking defeat, the Whitecaps never let their heads drop, and got the job done in the end.

It took some help from Boehmer, and some spectacular defensive interventions, but in the end, they can now mark themselves in history with this three-peat.

When looking back at this game in the years to come, no one will remember how this final actually played out – the same likely would’ve been true had the Whitecaps played well and lost.

In the end, it’s all about winning, and the Whitecaps showed that they can do so when not at their best.

Now, as they get set for a crucial playoff push, they’ll want to show it’s something they can do if need be because while they remain a team that likes to win beautifully whenever possible, that won’t always be possible in some of the games that await them – starting this weekend against the Portland Timbers, a game that will not be easy given the turnaround they’re about to go through. – Alex

What’s next for these Whitecaps?

Now, a crucial period awaits this Whitecaps side.

As is often the case in MLS, rest will not be a luxury afforded to this group for the next while – they now play this Saturday, next Wednesday, and the Saturday after that, all against three teams right next to them in the standings.

Because of that, they won’t have much time to celebrate their spoils from this win, as after taking time to celebrate deep into Wednesday night, their attention will quickly turn to what’s next.

At the same time, that might be what this team needs and wants. Ultimately, while they’ll look to savour this win, as it’s always special to win trophies, they do have their eyes on bigger prizes.

For a team that has long struggled in the Canadian Championship before the start of this threepeat, the value of this streak cannot be ignored in terms of what it’s done for the club, one that has now tasted winning and wants more.

And for a 3rd straight year, a #VWFC #CanChamp trophy lift at BC Place pic.twitter.com/obvqxftBkF

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 26, 2024

Now, however, they do know that bigger goals await. For all of their success in the Canadian Championship, this is a team that wants to do well in MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup.

They’ve got the potential to do so in the coming months, but they must now put all of the pieces together, as they remain in a crucial window where they’ve got as good of a chance as any to all of those things as they’ve had in recent years. Now sitting within touching distance of second place in the Western Conference in MLS, just five points behind RSL with a game in hand, they’re in a good position to make a run now, although they must be careful as they can easily drop back into a fight just to make the playoffs. Given that they can look across the league and sit confident of their ability to take on all of the teams, however, and have hung with some of the best teams in the region, however, it’s not unreasonable for them to look higher rather than lower.

Yet, that’s been the step they’ve been flirting with taking this year – there’s no reason why they can’t finish top three in the Western Conference and win at least one playoff round, if not more – they’ve proven that in spurts all year long.

Having tasted this success domestically within Canada, they’ll now look to take into the US, which if they can achieve this fall, will be the lasting legacy of this latest triumph. – Alex

This post was done in collaboration with Canadian Soccer Daily, who cover all things Canadian Soccer at https://canadiansoccerdaily.com