Wednesday night at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a 1-1 draw with visiting C.F. Monterrey in the first leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 matchup.

It was a match where the Whitecaps dominated for long portions of the proceedings, but as with many Liga MX opponents gone by, finding a critical breakthrough presented a substantial challenge. Simply put, Mexican sides play with a notably aggressive and decisive nature, especially when defending inside their own area. Given this, results are not easy to come by. That said, these matches serve as great tests for the Whitecaps, who are gradually trying to work their way towards the top echelon of North American soccer, even though there are some frustrations along the way.

Alright, without further delay, let’s have a look at the player ratings from Wednesday night:

Isaac Boehmer – 6.5

The young Canadian keeper was not very busy in this match, as he only had to make two saves, and the one dangerous shot he faced was a fantastic finish at a very tight angle. I would like to see him get an MLS match here in the near future.

Edier Ocampo – 6.5

The young defender was the guilty party for keeping the Monterrey goal onside, but otherwise, I think Edier has finally started to find a rhythm in Whitecaps colours. You can see the pace and dribbling qualities that made Ocampo a highly touted youngster, and he’s also not afraid to get physical in 50/50 challenges.

Belal Halbouni – 8.0

Belal had one or two adventures at the back, but that’s pretty normal for someone making their first start of the year. He can be dynamic on the ball at times, and he’s a physically imposing force, both in his own half, but also on attacking set pieces, as we saw on Vancouver’s late equalizer.

Ranko Veselinovic – 6.5

I can’t really remember too many standout moments from Ranko in this match, and much of that comes down to the fact that Vancouver was pretty dominant. Overall, Ranko has been rock solid to start the season.

Mathias Laborda – 6.0

The Uruguayan was tasked with some man-marking on Monterrey’s dangerous wide players. Though he was largely effective, he was also racking up fouls and therefore was substituted at halftime.

Ralph Priso – 7.0

I have to credit Ralph for the way he has started 2025. The fact that the Whitecaps can rest Cubas and not crater their own defensive game is a huge boost this team did not have last season.

Sebastian Berhalter – 7.0

Berhalter has amassed a big number of minutes early this season, and he’s been pretty effective throughout. He had 3 key passes in this match, but struggled a bit in 50/50 challenges, winning just 4 of 11. I think one of the factors there was getting called for a bunch of fouls that were pretty borderline.

JC Ngando – 8.0

The pleasant surprise of the season so far? If you’re Jesper Sørensen, you’re probably wondering why this guy was on loan last year. Ngando has a great knack for receiving the ball in tight spaces and then twisting his body to create space, plus, he’s always looking to play a ball into space for his teammates. He had 5 key passes in this match.

Ryan Gauld – 7.0

This was a funny match for the Scot. He was fantastic in many respects, especially running into wide channels and hitting balls back across the face of goal. Unfortunately for Gauld, his final touch really eluded him on Wednesday, with a number of mis-hit passes and shots at critical moments, which is obviously not something you expect.

Daniel Rios – 5.5

The newcomer was not very involved in this match, and his 19 touches through 60 minutes would tell you that. That said, there are still ways to be involved as a striker when you don’t get the ball, and I would like to see Rios make more intentional runs inside the area. Perhaps this will take a bit of time as he gets used to the preferences of his fellow attackers.

Ali Ahmed – 8.0

The Canadian didn’t start, but he came on after just 5 minutes, with Jayden Nelson removed for precautionary reasons. While one could point out that Ahmed once again failed to turn his dynamic runs into goals and assists, it felt like this match was a step closer to what we all want to see from him. Like another young star in this city, sometimes Ahmed needs to take a shot without hesitation. Without being too much of a data nerd, Ahmed is doing all the right stuff (0.37 xG+0.1 xA per 90 minutes so far this year), so I have to think the goals will start coming sooner or later.

Substitutes – 7.0

Congratulations to Tate Johnson, who made his Whitecaps debut and looked the part in the second half, they will need more from him with Adekugbe out for the next month or so. Elsewhere, I thought Vite was once again dynamic in the minutes we saw from him, he’s probably been one of Vancouver’s three best payers so far this year.

Alright, those are my thoughts. Let me know yours in the comments!

(Image Credits: Mark Zhuang and Keveren Guillou)