Good Friday morning, Caps fans. I hope you’re having a good week and that the early days of September are treating you well so far.

It was a subpar start to the Canadian Championship semifinals on Wednesday night, with the Caps managing only a 1-1 draw in a match they dominated by pretty much every statistical metric.

But this was also a match replete with small mistakes: poor giveaways, misplayed passes into touch, and wasted set pieces. Montreal was held basically in check on the attack, save for their goal from a Dani Pereira wonder strike. While Isaac Boehmer didn’t cover himself in glory by getting chipped from midfield, it was also a poor giveaway from Oliver Larraz that made the chance possible in the first place.

The Caps had similar miscues against Sporting KC but were able to overcome them based on raw talent and a much better showing in the second half. When Ryan Gauld got the equalizer against Montreal, it seemed like that same thing might happen here as well. But the wind just seemed to come out of the Caps’ sails late. Credit to Montreal for being difficult to play against, well-organized, and very physical.

The big worry for Vancouver will be the exit of Edier Ocampo due to concussion. Patrick Johnstone of the Province reported seeing Ocampo with paramedics after the match and it seems likely he will be out for a spell. Best wishes to Edi on a speedy recovery.

I don’t think there’s any sort of bigger trend for the Caps here, but it does put them in an uncomfortable spot in the semifinal tie. Montreal will likely be the favorites going back home, though the Caps will still feel as thought they have a good shot at getting through. They will need to clean up those mistakes in a hurry, however, with a St. Louis side that is on a heater coming into town on Saturday. The Caps will continue to the quality to beat pretty much whomever they face but they can’t play down to the level of their opposition, as they have the last two matches.

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We run down the first leg of the semifinals and where the tie sits ahead of the return fixture.

Best of the Rest

Some were wondering how the Caps were going to free up the roster space for their new arrivals. Well, the club announced Thursday that they were parting ways with J.C. Ngando. This isn’t a surprise, as Ngando has hardly featured this year. While he was not a great fit for Jesper Sorensen’s style of play, I think he could do a job for a lot of MLS teams and I wish him well.

The other shoe to drop was the news that Kenji Cabrera was placed on the season-ending injury list after undergoing surgery for his metatarsal fracture. Best of luck on a speedy recovery Kenji!

All U.S. MLS teams will make a return to the Open Cup, reinstating some parity with the Canadian sides in terms of fixture demands.

A look at all of the transfer dealings from deadline day and grades on how each team did.