4 KEY takeaways from the quarter-finals of the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship
Despite there being a lengthy break between matches, the second leg of the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship quarter-finals certainly lived up to the hype this week.
Goals, red cards, penalties and late drama were just some of what was on tap across the second legs of those four matchups, as all eight teams remaining in the competition battled to reach the semi-finals.
Now, the final four is set, with the path towards the Voyageurs Cup set in stone after the completion of the redraw, giving a better idea of how the last two rounds might go.
On one side of the bracket, the three-time defending champions, Vancouver Whitecaps, will face off against Forge for the first time, with the winner of that tie hosting the final. Meanwhile, Atlético Ottawa will take on Vancouver FC in an all-Canadian Premier League semi-final, one that will ensure that a CPL team reaches the final via a bracket for the first time in this competition’s history (Forge previously reached the 2020 final, which was a one-off match that pitted the winner of the 2020 Island Games against the top Canadian MLS team).
It’s hard to know what could be in store in the 2025 final, which could see a first-ever all-Vancouver derby, Ottawa’s first match vs. an MLS side, a clash between two Ontario CPL rivals or a Forge vs. VFC battle, but it feels like the journey there will be quite entertaining.
Certainly, that was the case in the quarter-finals, where every tie remained in the balance until quite late, with there being no blowouts or anything of the sort, which only added to that aforementioned drama.
With that in mind, here are four KEY takeaways from the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship.
Forge continues to impose themselves vs. MLS sides:
Photo Credit: Thiago Szwarc/TrueNorthFoot
As the saying goes, once is a fluke, twice is a trend.
Right now, Forge is trending in the right direction after yet another massive victory, as they defeated CF Montréal 3-2 on aggregate to eliminate the MLS side for a second straight season.
After being eliminated in three straight Canadian Championships by Montréal between 2021 and 2023, Forge have started to turn around their all-time series vs. the MLS outfit, which sits at 2W-3D-2L (one of those draws saw Montréal win on penalties).
Combined with their other matchups vs. MLS opposition in this competition, which consists of three clashes vs. Toronto FC, where they’ve got a record of 1W-1D-1L (that draw saw Toronto win on penalties), this Forge side is starting to get comfortable with playing MLS sides and picking up results - even across two-legged ties.
GOAL 🔨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 10, 2025
TRISTAN BORGES makes it 1-1 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate for Forge FC over #CFMTL in this TELUS #CanChamp clash 🇨🇦🏆
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/232Yqfn1qr
Yet, this is a sign of Forge’s growth in this competition, in which they’ve reached the semi-finals in four of the last five editions, along with that one-off final, as they’re proving to be one of the teams to beat in the Canadian Championship.
They enter this competition with the expectation that they can win it, and they continue to play like it, going toe-to-toe with every team they face, even MLS sides.
Now, the last frontier will be for them to get past the semi-final, as they’ve lost in their three previous visits to this stage, and things won’t get any easier for them in that matchup vs. the Whitecaps.
On paper, Forge might rue that they missed out on a chance to play one of their CPL peers, given that they haven’t been eliminated by a CPL side in this competition since 2019, but this test could be crucial for them.
For all the success they’ve achieved against Montréal and their solid record against Toronto, those two teams have struggled significantly in this competition and in MLS over the last few years. There’s a reason why Montréal haven’t lifted the Voyageurs Cup since 2021 and Toronto FC since 2022 (when they beat Forge in that one-off final; otherwise their last Voyageurs Cup victory came in 2018) - both sides are in a state of flux and trying to rebuild to where they were in the 2010s, where they combined to win nine of a possible 10 Voyageurs Cups, an idea that seems like a distant dream at this stage.
GOAL 🔨🔨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 10, 2025
KYLE BEKKER MAKES IT TWO 💥
Forge FC go up 2-1 on the night, 3-1 on aggregate over #CFMTL in this TELUS #CanChamp clash 🇨🇦 🏆
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/DvtArLGJrU
Now, the Whitecaps are the heavyweight team in this tournament after winning three straight trophies, and for the first time in Forge’s history, they’ll get to test themselves against them.
Given that Forge has also gone up against sides like Cruz Azul, Chivas and CF Monterrey in the Concacaf Champions Cup, however, this won’t be a battle that they’ll fear - so look for them to try and apply what they learned across those matchups, as well as their clashes vs. Montréal and Toronto in this competition, and apply it as they chase an upset in the semi-finals, one that could further improve their growing record vs. MLS sides.
For some further context on that last point, CPL sides have now picked up six wins and eight draws vs. MLS teams - Forge are responsible for three of those wins and four of those draws, which is quite impressive given that they’ve just lost three of those matches outright.
Forge FC have now lost just one of their past six matches against MLS opposition. Big club mentality, big club results. #CanPL #CanChamp
— Mitchell Tierney (@mitchelltierney) July 10, 2025
Whitecaps remain the team to beat despite Valour scare:
Photo Credit: Ali Arabpour/TrueNorthFoot
The Whitecaps' quest for a fourpeat remains alive heading into the semi-finals, as they did well to hold off an impressive Valour performance to reach the final four for a fourth straight year.
Despite looking to be a lopsided matchup on paper, with Valour struggling in CPL play and the Whitecaps flying in MLS and Champions Cup action, this tie ended up being a lot closer than many expected, with the Whitecaps only winning after a 90th-minute goal in the second leg.
There, however, credit has to be given to Valour for pushing the Whitecaps throughout this tie. Across both legs, Valour put up two excellent performances, which was nearly enough to push the three-time defending champions to penalties, which would’ve been quite the feat, especially had they triumphed on spot kicks.
Yet, as they did across both legs, the Whitecaps showed a knack for scoring timely goals, showing why they’ve won this competition three years in a row.
Across that span, there haven’t been many dominant results, as they’ve won just three games by more than one goal in the 14 games they’ve now played in this tournament since the start of 2022 - coming when they beat Valour 2-0 in the 2022 preliminary round, York United 4-1 in the 2023 quarter-finals, and Pacific 3-0 in the 2023 semi-finals. Otherwise, every match they’ve played has been decided by a goal or fewer, including three that have gone to a penalty shootout.
What that shows, however, is why it’ll be so difficult to dethrone the Whitecaps, who have mastered the art of grinding through these knockout matches. No matter how well they play, or poorly, they’ve found a good formula that allows them to get the job done, and that’s allowed them to shine.
GOAL 🏔️🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 10, 2025
WHITECAPS STRIKE BACK FAST 💨
Bjørn Inge Utvik scores off a Jayden Nelson cross and #VWFC restore their advantage in this TELUS #CanChamp clash 🇨🇦🏆 pic.twitter.com/sc5p8CZ8ns
If anything, their biggest challenge has been to carry that savviness over to other competitions, but after making a run to the Champions Cup final this year, perhaps that’s a sign that they’ve started to turn a corner in that regard, which could bode well for the MLS Cup playoffs, in particular, a place where they’ve struggled in over the years.
Before then, however, they’d love to lift the Voyageurs Cup once again, so look for them to continue to show that poise against Forge in the next round.
Can Atlético Ottawa adjust its style to cup matches?
For the first time in their history, Atlético Ottawa have reached the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship, as they defeated York United 6-4 on aggregate in what was arguably the best matchup of the quarter-finals.
A battle of two rivals who have a history of entertaining matches, these two legs lived up to that drama, as Ottawa claimed a 2-1 win in leg one, before both teams traded blows in a 4-3 leg two Ottawa win, one that featured a red card and several lead changes.
In the end, Ottawa survived, but it’s worth noting that this ended up being a lot closer than most would’ve expected, as there was a point around the 26th minute of leg two where Ottawa went up two goals on aggregate and had a player advantage after York’s Elijah Adekugbe was sent off. From there, most would’ve expected this tie to finish as a comfortable Ottawa victory, but then York scored twice while down a player, tying the aggregate score at 4-4 after 37th and 53rd minute goals.
Eventually, Ottawa made the most of the player advantage, as they regained their aggregate lead in the 84th minute before finding an insurance marker in the second minute of stoppage time, but it was made a lot closer than they would’ve hoped.
Yet, this is something to watch in this competition. So far in 2025, Ottawa have been the class of the Canadian Premier League, sitting in first with a record of 8W-4D-1L (28 points) through 13 games, having scored a league-high 30 goals, while conceding a respectable 15 goals.
In the Canadian Championship, however, things have been slightly less straightforward for them, as they were made to work a lot harder than expected for a 2-0 win vs. League 1 Ontario outfit Scrosoppi FC in the preliminary round, before this back-and-forth York United clash.
What that shows, however, is the challenge Ottawa faces when shifting their focus towards competition. Often, it can be hard for teams who score goals for fun to translate that to knockout competitions, where matches can be cagey and hard-fought, and Ottawa have felt that.
GOAL 👑👑👑
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 9, 2025
THE TIE IS LEVEL AGAIN, WHAT A GAME! 🤩
Massimo Ferrin puts it past Nathan Ingham and 10-men @yorkutdfc are back in the series 🔥#CanChamp | 🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/Ch285ALy6d
To their credit, they’ve still scored eight goals in three Canadian Championship matches, so it’s not as if they’ve been slowed offensively, but there have been some defensive concerns.
They kept the clean sheet against Scrosoppi, but even in that match, their opponents hit the woodwork, while York were able to get four goals in this tie, including two while down a player.
For what it’s worth, this Ottawa side has proven to be capable of keeping things tidy defensively, as they’ve kept a clean sheet in four straight CPL matches, but they’ll want to bring that sort of defensive performance into the next round of this tournament.
If they’re to make some noise in that round, as well as in the CPL playoffs later this year, they’ll want to strike the right balance, one they’ll need to find in those bigger matches.
GOAL 🦖🦖🦖@atletiOttawa HAVE THE AGGREGATE LEAD AGAIN! Sam Salter finds the loose ball inside the box after York defenders attempted to clear it and he makes no mistake 🤩🔥#CanChamp | 🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/ywlqtsqUZd
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 9, 2025
To be clear, that shouldn’t mean sacrificing their high-octane style, which they should continue to lean on, but it’ll be important that they keep plan B on deck in case they run into a game where the goals aren’t dropping for them, as they perhaps could’ve used it in the second leg of this York tie.
Vancouver FC finding the right balance for cup run:
For Vancouver FC, one of their biggest struggles as a club has been to find a balance between attack and defence, which is why they’ve got just one win in CPL action in 2025, having scored just 14 goals and conceded 26 in 13 league games.
In the Canadian Championship, however, they’ve struck a nice balance, as they’ve now reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history, doing so off the back of three straight 1-1 draws and two penalty shootout wins, including a 2-2 aggregate win (5-4 on penalties) vs. Cavalry in the semi-finals.
It hasn’t been the prettiest of formulas, but they’ve kept things tight defensively, and that’s proven to be the perfect recipe for success in a knockout competition like this.
Now, that’s put Vancouver two games away from an improbable final appearance, which would have felt impossible a few months ago for a team that had previously lost its only two Canadian Championship appearances before 2025.
VANCOUVER FC WIN 🦅
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 9, 2025
The Eagles are moving on to the semi-finals of the TELUS Canadian Championship after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over Cavalry 🔥 @vanfootballclub #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/4lMUxSHH1l
That’s the beauty of the cup, however - sometimes, the pressure of knockout competition can bring something special out of teams, and Vancouver has benefited from that this year. That they were able to get by a Cavalry side they’d never beaten shows that.
They still remain without a win vs. Cavalry, of course, but they won’t mind that given that they still got past them in the end, so look for them to build some momentum off this result.
Funnily enough, it might be a bit bittersweet in a sense, as it also might prove that they’re more built for the CPL playoffs than they are the regular season, but this run could also spark them to improve their league form as they try and reach the playoffs for the first time after missing them in both of their first two CPL seasons. .
Already sitting as the surprise of this tournament, it feels like they’ve got nothing to lose heading into an Ottawa side that will have a lot of pressure on them to reach the final after the season they’ve had to date, and perhaps that could work in Vancouver’s favour, allowing them to keep the magic going.
Lastly, a word on Cavalry in this competition - that’s now three times they’ve lost on penalties, and they haven’t reached the semi-finals since 2019, where they were the first CPL team to do so. For all of the growth they’ve had over the last few years, especially with their 2023 CPL Shield triumph and their long-awaited North Star Cup win in 2024, knockout competition has continued to cause them problems.
Because of that, they’ll feel this is a massive missed opportunity, but their loss is Vancouver’s gain.
