Eighty Six Forever, Post Match, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Post Match: Guts and Glory

It appears that threats of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ demise might’ve been greatly exaggerated.

Okay, the disappointment from the Whitecaps’ Champions Cup final loss to Cruz Azul won’t go away anytime soon – such was the manner of that defeat – but for those who had watched this team this year, it was also obvious that the Whitecaps put in just about the worst performance they could’ve put in down in Mexico City.

Of course, the worry would be to see what a performance like that could do to a team that had otherwise had a near-perfect season up to that point, as it could prove to be the sort of psychological blow that a team never recovers from.

Now, it’s far too early to say how deep those scars run, as there is still plenty of time in the year for them to manifest themselves. Still, the Whitecaps showed that they’ve at least got a short memory, and are a heck of a lot more resilient than many expected, in a 3-0 win vs. the Seattle Sounders on Sunday at BC Place.

It was primed to be an ugly defeat – not only was it the first Whitecaps match since the final, but they were short nine first-team players due to international duty (with MLS continuing to play through those breaks), and another in Ryan Gauld due to injury.

Then, with it not enough to be down 10 players, they also had to deal with the aftermath of a virus that ripped through the team after the final, as half the squad that was left to play this match got sick with a gastrointestinal illness, making a tall task seem impossible.

Yet, not only did the Whitecaps get a victory against their Cascadian rivals, but they did so by displaying the sort of mentality they’ve played with all year. Having strayed about as far away from their game model as they possibly could’ve vs. Cruz Azul, they looked like themselves again in this match, despite all of their absences.

Against a Seattle team who were decently close to full strength – Jordan Morris, Paul Arriola, Reed Baker-Whiting and Yeimar Gómez were their lone notable absences – the Whitecaps were able to completely catch the Sounders by surprise with their play.

Granted, they had to slightly adjust their game plan to do so. Instead of holding the ball as much as they’re used to, likely due to some of the physical limitations of the players available, many of whom were affected by the illness, they sat back and let Seattle control proceedings.

Despite that, they still had some excellent sequences of possession early, as they made the most of their opportunities with the ball, even if Seattle only let them hold 33% of possession in the first half. Then, having survived all of the Sounders’ attacks up until the 40th minute, they pounced as Jeevan Badwal scored the game’s opening goal, slotting home after an excellent Whitecaps attack move.

In a sense, Badwal’s performance was emblematic of the Whitecaps on the night, however. The 19-year-old homegrown known for having boundless energy was clearly far from his best physically, but he ran until they had to drag him off the pitch, as he put in a gutsy 74-minute performance, making his goal, his first for the Whitecaps’ first team, a deserved one.


From there, the game did get a bit crazy in the second half. For the third time since the start of 2024, the Sounders went down a player in a match against the Whitecaps, as Nouhou Tolo was sent off in the 52nd minute, and that was just the start of the Sounders’ misery, as Jon Bell was sent off in the 55th minute.

For context, that was the second time in the past two seasons that the Sounders went down to nine players in a match against the Whitecaps – and much like the last time that happened (the Whitecaps won that match 2-0 in April of 2024), those expulsions spelled disaster for the Sounders.

After using their numerical advantage to rest their legs for 20 minutes, as the Whitecaps slowed down the game on the ball, they eventually put this game away late.

It started with Daniel Ríos, who was pretty quiet for the rest of the night, but then stepped up with a banger of a goal in the 70th minute. Having missed a few chances in the box beforehand, he had a heat check from distance, and scored one of his team’s best goals of the season – a reminder that for all of the frustrating moments he can have in the attack, he is a capable goalscorer when he wants to be.

At that point, the final result didn’t seem to be in doubt, but the Whitecaps tied a bow around this game in the 88th minute, as Emmanuel Sabbi won a penalty. That allowed Damir Kreilach to step up to take it, and he put his team up 3-0 with a cool finish.


With that, it capped what might’ve been the Whitecaps’ best result of the season. It lacked the panache of their away win vs. Inter Miami in the Champions Cup, the ruthlessness of their comeback win vs. RSL in MLS, or the flair of their demolition of Austin FC at home in league play, but it was about as gutsy of a win as they could’ve gotten (no pun intended).

Given that a tough month awaits them, with their next three games coming against the Columbus Crew, San Diego FC and LAFC in MLS play, things won’t get any easier from here. A couple of their international players will return for the Crew match, but Gauld remains sidelined, while Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekugbe, Jayden Nelson, Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White will all be at the Gold Cup, which may keep them out for as long as a month depending on how well Canada and the US do.

Having picked up a win like this, however, that might spur the Whitecaps on to some big results in that stretch. And even if they come up short, if they go out swinging like they did in this game, this win will buy them a bit of a buffer in the Supporters Shield and Western Conference race, at least.

Speaking of, it’s important to note that the Whitecaps are now back on top of the Supporters Shield standings with 35 points, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Union, and are five points ahead of second-place San Diego FC in the Western Conference standings – with a game in hand on both.

That’s important to note, because while it might’ve felt like the world was falling apart for the Whitecaps this past week, they’ve still got a lot to play for in the next six months, and a look at the standings shows that.

A loss like their CCC final defeat can either halt that momentum, or push them onto success in the competitions that remain, and this win is a sign that they’re leaning towards at least making the latter possible through their own actions.

Given that they found this victory on a day where they had every excuse available to them for a heavy defeat, they certainly did well to back up their ambitions in a physical manner – perhaps, keeping this mentality in tow might be the next step they can take to push them to an even higher level in their quest for revenge.

Before then, however, they’ll soak up this victory, and rightfully so – as head coach Jesper Sørensen pointed out afterwards, they truly left everything out there, turning a midseason MLS game into a match they won’t forget.

“All the credit in this world has to go to our players and it has been very rough for them,” he said. “It’s been a very rough week, so I think the players, what they did today, was exceptional.”

He added: “They gave everything they had in their bodies on the pitch, you could see how tired everyone was, as it’s been a difficult week.”

(Photo Credit: Vancouver Whitecaps)

7 thoughts on “Post Match: Guts and Glory”

  1. Biggest win of the season no doubt. Commentators were predicting this game might be the beginning of the end for the best season in our history and we made very clear that that was not the case. Hard not to admire every single one of those guys who played their hearts out despite a week from hell.

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  2. What an amazing result – one of the best in recent years considering the absentee list and the illnesses.

    As Norwegian says, the result is not only about the players, but also the tactical ability of our coach!

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  3. What’s with our Cascadia opponents’ defenders’ penchants for DOGSO fouling after being clearly beaten? With VAR you are unlikely to escape a red even if the referee misses it, and surely a possible goal is not worth the consequences. This is really dumb football and it appears to be drummed into many defenders. I think it was Nouhou who took a silly second yellow with Seattle ahead of Portland in a must-win Cascadia game two years ago, up two goals and soon tied, allowing the Whitecaps to clinch the title. Last night it happened twice in five minutes. The second one was less severe, but stupidity squared seldom escapes unscathed. “Must-foul situations” says the last comment, to which I reply, “you meddle with the Laws of the Game, you will atone!” Defend better or leave it up to the keeper to shine.

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  4. This is one victory that I want to hand credit directly and completely to the Tactician in Tope, the Oatmeal Orchestrator, the Off-white Knight, Jesper Sørensen.

    I’m one of those guys who still appreciates the job Vanni did but taking this lineup on short notice, switching to a back three (again, on short notice) and getting a performance like this against a Cascadian rival is amazing.

    Sartini will always have folk hero status for his trophies, winning media ways, his multiculturalism and Socialist ethos but I’ve decided it’s time for me to Turn the Beige©️.

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    1. And just to be clear, I’m not only referencing this particular game. The fact that he could enact those changes in such a short and troubled timeframe, illustrates the deep well of understanding that he has created within each member of the squad over the course of the season. For all the good Vanni did over the course of three years, Jesper has taken that baseline and crystallized it into a structure of safety that each player feels comfortable extemporizing within. I’m just so, so impressed with him and with Axel for making the tough call.

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  6. Excellent performance by the Caps. They showed some depth which will continue to play dividends over the long season. The second half started poorly but they withstood the pressure until their speed caught Seattle into must-foul situations. Overall, a very solid performance after both a tough week and a dozen regulars unavailable.

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