3 KEY TAKEAWAYS: Pumas UNAM finds late goal vs. fatigued Whitecaps to grab crucial 1-1 draw in leg 1 of CCC QFs
It’s advantage Pumas UNAM on away goals after leg one of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarter-final clash against the Vancouver Whitecaps, as they scored a late equalizer to give them a 1-1 draw at BC Place on Wednesday.
After a tense start to the match, one where quality chances were hard to come by, the Whitecaps eventually found the game’s first goal in the 71st minute, as Brian White bundled home a loose ball after a corner to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, their lead was short-lived. Pumas then responded with an equalizer in the 87th minute, also coming on a corner. This time, Adalberto Carrasquilla found open space in the box and fired home a first-time shot to give his team an important goal.
Despite suffering that blow, however, the Whitecaps nearly responded with a dramatic winner in the 94th minute. There, Edier Ocampo managed to deliver a perfect ball into the box, finding a wide-open Emmanuel Sabbi, but despite meeting the ball with a perfect header, the second-half substitute was denied a goal by the strong hands of goalkeeper Álex Padilla and the post.
As a result, both teams were left to settle for a draw, one that favours Pumas thanks to that aforementioned away goal, one that will force the Whitecaps to score at least one goal down in Mexico City to have a chance at advancing to the semi-finals.
At the same time, that’s not a fatal result for the Whitecaps, either. As many will know, the Whitecaps advanced from the Round of 16 against CF Monterrey despite a 1-1 draw at home in leg one, as they picked up a 2-2 draw in leg two, something they hope they can repeat again next week.
Here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Set-pieces giveth, and taketh away for the Whitecaps:
It’s safe to say that this wasn’t the most exciting of Whitecaps matches this season, at least from an offensive standpoint.
During most of this game, it looked like the Whitecaps might finish this match without a goal, marking their second-straight game without one following a 0-0 draw with Toronto FC in MLS action this past weekend.
For a team that had scored in every game they’d played in, looking dangerous offensively every time on the pitch, it appeared that the Whitecaps were coming down to earth in that regard in this game - or just finally starting to show signs of missing Ryan Gauld, which was also true against Toronto.
That last point is important to note—for as good as the Whitecaps have been without Gauld, they still miss their captain, who is key to much of what his team does on the ball.
Yet, while they weren’t as dangerous against Toronto in open play, they still had several chances to break open the game via other avenues, such as set-pieces, as they still did a good job of getting to positions where they could win corners and free-kicks.
There, however, as they have for much of the season, they weren’t as dangerous as hoped. As a result, TFC weren’t punished for conceding those corners, and that helped them pick up a draw.
In this game, however, the Whitecaps made sure to punish Pumas for similarly gifting them a bountiful amount of dead-ball opportunities. It wasn’t pretty, as White’s goal came off a chaotic sequence of events that started with a missed punch from Padilla, but it was a good example of what you have to do sometimes on those set-pieces - just jam the ball in the box and create chaos.
GOAL 🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 3, 2025
The Vancouver Whitecaps go up 1-0 over Pumas UNAM as Brian White cleans up a scramble in the box 😎
Can #VWFC hold on for the win in this Leg 1 clash in the #ConcaChampions quarter-finals? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xYehqbYCJp
As nice as it’d be to constantly score set-piece goals like the one the Whitecaps scored in the Round of 16 against Monterrey, where Belal Halbouni nodded home a perfect cross from Gauld, those sorts of clearcut opportunities haven’t been as plentiful as hoped.
Because of that, look for the Whitecaps to try and use this goal as an example of what they might need to do more going forward, as their possession-based, front-footed approach will only continue to yield more set-pieces. The more dangerous they are on dead-balls, the more teams will have to think extra about giving away those kinds of opportunities, which will only help them in open play.
Speaking of set-pieces, however, the Whitecaps will have to be frustrated with the goal they conceded late. Having been excellent all year at defending those sorts of plays, doing a great job of not giving up set pieces and then defending the rare ones they give away, it was a surprise to see them slip up at such a crucial venture.
GOAL 🇲🇽
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 3, 2025
Pumas UNAM strike back in the 87th minute as Adalberto Carrasquilla hits a sweet volley to level the score vs. #VWFC and give his team a precious away goal heading into Leg 2 in Mexico City 😬 pic.twitter.com/zGjfGN7bVX
Given their success in that area this season, this goal isn’t likely to spark any grand changes in their defensive approach in those situations, but it’s a good reminder of the moments you have to manage in these matchups.
Having held Pumas to just five shots in the game, yet another strong defensive performance in a long line of them for this Whitecaps team, who have defended well all year, and will look to avoid giving up something similar in leg two, especially from dead balls, which seemed to be the lone avenue in which Pumas could threaten them in this match, which will further show why giving up a goal via that avenue will feel so frustrating.
Pumas opt for low-event approach en route to perfect away performance:
It feels rare to see a Liga MX side approach a Champions Cup game like they’re not favourites, especially against MLS sides.
Yet, for a second straight tie, the Whitecaps have witnessed a Liga MX opponent do that, as much as Monterrey did in leg one, Pumas came into this one with caution on their mind.
Perhaps, that’s just a reflection of their overall confidence level as a club right now - Pumas is 10th in the Clausura table as of writing - but they could’ve used a match like this against a Whitecaps team hammered by injuries as one to rebuild that.
Instead, however, they embraced the underdog role and came into this game willing to sit back and absorb pressure.
As a result, they were reluctant to send numbers forward early on and instead opted to employ a cautious approach. Because of that, they finished the half with just 45% of possession, one touch in the Whitecaps box, and just one shot attempt - a sign of their ambitions on the ball, or lack thereof.
Instead, they put most of their concentration into their defensive game, and it paid off for them early. The Whitecaps did well to hold onto the ball, and looked quite dangerous with it, but most of their promising attacks seemed to die right before they reached the box.
As a result, they finished with just three first-half shots and only eight touches in the box, giving an idea of how effective Pumas’s approach was early on.
To be fair, this wasn’t surprising to see - when Pumas came to BC Place to play the Whitecaps in last year’s Leagues Cup, Pumas employed a similar approach, one that proved effective as they neutralized the Whitecaps attacking threats, and then found offence by capitalizing on a mistake from the hosts, helping them find a 2-0 win.
Despite facing a much different version of the Whitecaps this time around, one that has proved much more adept at breaking down low blocks, a noted weakness of the 2024 version, Pumas stuck to that plan and can be mostly satisfied with the outcome.
Of course, the goal they conceded was frustrating, but given that they held the Whitecaps to seven shots in the end, this has to be seen as a job well done for Pumas, even if they had to survive some late scares to get there in the end.
SO CLOSE 😩
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 3, 2025
Emmanuel Sabbi nearly gives #VWFC a 2-1 lead over Pumas UNAM but his headed effort smacks the post and refuses to go in 🥲#VWFC | #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/BC0mPzbjQP
Because of that, don’t be surprised to see something similar in leg two. Had they fallen 1-0 in this game, they would’ve had to be much more aggressive, but now, they can sit back and let the Whitecaps to dictate that game, something that certainly benefits this Pumas side, who showed a good willingness to get stuck in and scrap for what they wanted, which they got in the end.
“It’s the first leg of a two-leg tie, so you want to also protect yourself a little bit,” Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sørensen offered afterwards. “We also knew what we were up against, a team that came here to defend well. We didn’t really have the quality in the crossing, but we got to the opportunities to get under them as we wanted.”
He added: “We didn’t give much away, which we don’t want to do much at home in the first leg, either).”
Is fatigue starting to wear on the Whitecaps?
It can be easy to forget given how well they’ve played, but the Whitecaps have dealt with a gruelling schedule to start 2025, mostly thanks to this competition.
Having been asked to play essentially every three days since February (other than a period at the end of March where the international break spared them of that), it’s started to leave a toll on this squad.
To see how much of a toll, one just had to look at their injury list heading into this game - Ryan Gauld, Andrés Cubas, Sam Adekugbe, Mathías Laborda and Bjørn Inge Utvik were the main names missing, denying the Whitecaps of a key group of regulars to rely on.
Despite that, the Whitecaps once again showed that they can cope well without those players throughout this one, but for a second straight match, they didn’t finish as strongly as they would’ve liked, which has been a hallmark of Sørensen’s system so far this year.
Whenever they sense weakness in opponents, they pounce, and that has allowed them to earn some dramatic results late on, but this time, they were on the other side of the coin.
Because of that, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle the next leg of this Pumas tie, as things don’t get easier for them from here - first, they must deal with an MLS match against a strong Colorado Rapids team on the weekend, before travelling to Mexico City for leg two of this tie on Wednesday.
One has to imagine rotation is on the cards for this Rapids match, but how aggressive it will be remains to be seen - the answer will likely reveal how fatigued they truly are.
Yet, this is the challenge MLS teams have when dealing with this competition - it’s hard enough to balance playing in multiple competitions at any time of the year, but especially in the early weeks of a season, where players are still shaking off the offseason rust.
That can tear through a squad, and the Whitecaps are feeling the effects of that, something they’ll hope doesn’t derail the strong momentum they’ve had to start the year.
Player of the Match:
Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver Whitecaps
Berhalter was an efficient force in midfield for the Whitecaps, finishing with 57 out of 62 passes completed (92%), taking two shots, making 16 passes into the final third and completing five out of six long balls in possession, while also chipping in with two tackles, two clearances, one interception, eight recoveries and winning seven out of 12 duels.
Along with the ball that he put in on the Whitecaps lone goal, which he won’t get credited with an assist for, it was a good night at the office for Berhalter. 
What’s Next:
Leg two of this tie will be on Wednesday, April 9th, at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City (7:30 p.m. PT). Before then, both teams will deal with important league matches - the Whitecaps will host the Colorado Rapids at BC Place on Saturday, April 5th (6:30 p.m. PT), while Pumas will be away at Estadio Cuauhtémoc for a clash against Cruz Azul that same Saturday (8:10 p.m. PT).
Watch the Concacaf Champions Cup live on OneSoccer. For a full list of what games will be available in round one, click here. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
