Good Friday morning/afternoon Caps fans. Hope you all have had a lovely week and are gearing up for a good weekend.

Well, they say all good things must end and that includes the Whitecaps’ streak as Canadian Championship winners. But it must be said that it still sucks to crash out of the Voyageurs Cup, particularly given that that competition was expected to balance out a shaky run of play in MLS.

We’ll start with the obvious: the Caps got screwed by the officials in the first half of the match. Montreal were wrongly awarded a penalty by the CPL’s Mickey Mouse VAR system and Prince Owusu should have been sent off for a dangerous tackle on Tristan Blackmon. The way these things were handled permanently altered the course of the game.

But the performance was woefully short of what was required. Montreal were hardly tested in the second half until Emmanuel Sabbi pulled a goal back late. And while the home side certainly defended well, the Caps were simply unable to break down a low block for seemingly the millionth time this year.

I think it’s fair that the more pessimistic among us are saying “I told you so.” The issues that have been compounding, which I thought would sort themselves out with time, have largely persisted. There has been some bad luck involved as well (defensive issues have come about because we’re on year two of constant injuries at the position) but Jesper Sorensen has yet to figure out a way to consistently get the attack to gel and no player has stepped up to consistently finish off the myriad chances that are created, beyond maybe Brian White.

The focus now will have to be on getting better for the playoffs and ensuring that they can secure the west, which would bring with it a CONCACAF Champions Cup berth. I still am optimistic this can happen but the team needs to weather the rotation and grind that will occur in the next few weeks. The depth of this team has been tested and, often, found lacking. Now’s the time to change that.

It is certainly frustrating to exit the Voyageurs Cup. Winning that has been the bare minimum for this team in recent years and it is something that we have almost taken for granted. But to win it four times in a row is still a massive achievement that should be celebrated, even in defeat. There is no reason the Caps can’t restart that streak next year. And while things feel bad right now, this team is still talented enough to lift MLS Cup. Changes will need to occur to maximize their chances of doing so but I still would not bet against Sorensen and this team to figure it out.

Shameless Self Promotion

We try and make sense of the CanChamp exit.

Best of the Rest

A snapshot of the Caps’ roster building status after the summer transfer window.

Forge have signed old friend Lucas Cavallini to a contract.

Shout-out to Edier Ocampo, who has deservedly been called up to the Colombian national team.

An interesting Guardian profile of Jonathan David.