Jeevan Badwal shows glimpse of potential with 1st goal for hometown Whitecaps: "It gave me goosebumps"
It was a moment that every young player dreams of.
When Jeevan Badwal turned in a cross from Édier Ocampo to put the Vancouver Whitecaps up 1-0 vs. the Seattle Sounders in MLS action at BC Place on June 8th, it felt like a dream-come-true moment for the 19-year-old Surrey-born native.
Making just his 12th appearance for his hometown club, it was his first start at BC Place, a stadium where he’d seen many games growing up, adding special meaning to the goal for him.
Every Angle 🎥 Jeevan Badwal’s first in @MLS 🔥#VWFC x MNP pic.twitter.com/T2Ms2hC8Ri
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) June 10, 2025
For someone who had come through the Whitecaps academy, joining in 2019, it was a special full-circle moment for the youngster, who had long dreamed of being able to score a goal at his home stadium, making it quite surreal to score the winner in a big derby match.
“Obviously, it feels amazing,” Badwal said after the match. “Growing up in the academy is one main thing, but scoring a goal at BC Place is another. As a little kid, I was in those stands, watching a lot of games, but now scoring a goal at BC Place, in front of family and fans, it means a lot.”
What’s most remarkable about this moment, however? The fact that it came most unexpectedly after what will have had to be one of the strangest weeks in Badwal’s life.
A week earlier, he was on the bench for his club’s biggest game in their history, as they took on Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Unfortunately, his side came up short in devastating fashion, falling 5-0, denying Badwal and his teammates a chance to become continental champions.
After that, however, things got worse for the Whitecaps, who picked up a gastrointestinal illness shortly following the final, with half the squad affected, including Badwal. Because of that, instead of preparing for their match vs. the Sounders, a game in which they were already going to be shorthanded with nine players away on international duty, several players were dealing with the aftermath of that illness.
Because of that, instead of preparing for his first start at BC Place the way he’d normally want to, let’s just say that Badwal had a less than ideal week - here’s him describing it in his own words:
“I spent a lot of time on the toilet.”
Despite that, the Whitecaps did well to recover from the pain of their CCC final defeat and stomach issues vs. the Sounders, picking up a 3-0 win that may as well be their most impressive in the season, given the circumstances, as they stayed atop MLS’s Supporters Shield race with the result.
“We're strong mentally,” Badwal said. “We kept our place at the top of the table, which was nice, but coming after a big defeat, we held strong and showed we are one team, from the staff to all of the players. Everyone did well and showed a lot of heart out there.”
Within that, Badwal’s debut was a big bright spot. Not only did he score that goal, but he was tidy on the ball and was relentless defensively, making several big defensive interventions, including one that saw him chase a Sounders player down the length of the field before putting a challenge in.
Jeevan Badwal vs Seattle Sounders
— jmo (@yoboyjmo) June 9, 2025
First career goal
88% pass accuracy
32 touches
3 passes into the final third
5 recoveries
3 ground duels won
Still only 19 years old 🔥#VWFC pic.twitter.com/viiGylWFTn
That’s not a surprise to see, however. A big reason for his rapid ascension to the Whitecaps first team has been due to his work rate, something that has allowed him to excel for Whitecaps 2, as well as Canada’s U17 and U20 Men’s National Team in the past.
For all the excellence he shows on the ball and the way he reads the game, he loves to run, which isn’t a bad thing for a midfielder - you do have to cover a lot of ground to play in that position.
Even in this game, where he wasn’t as fit as usual, given his stomach issues, which forced an earlier substitution, he ran until he had nothing left to give - although he admitted the goal helped him on that quest.
“It’s amazing, I got that goal, but that was only the first half, so I knew I had a whole other half coming up and had to keep building from that,” he said. “I had energy going into the game, but it gave me even more energy getting the goal, and to hear the fans chanting, which was nice, it gave me goosebumps. After the goal, I knew how much energy I had, so I just wanted to keep on going and going.”
Yet, that shows why Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen has been so eager to trust Badwal this year, as 11 of his 12 appearances for the first team have come under his tutelage in 2025, including eight in MLS and two in the Champions Cup.
Given that Sørensen is a former midfielder who wants his team to play with energy and tempo on the ball, while suffocating teams without it, Badwal has proven to be a perfect player for his system due to the work he puts in on both sides of the ball, as well as his quality, and that isn’t lost on the Whitecaps boss.
Because of that, he’s been eager to integrate the youngster, whom he believes has a lot of potential. That he’s played a role on a team that’s been the best in MLS in 2025 certainly backs up that sentiment.
“Jeevan is a lucky player because he has a coach who sees his talent, and I think that he just has to show it,” Sørensen said. “I think he did that today. Of course, it’s up to us in the coaching staff to give him the opportunities, but I think that he’s a young player, he hasn’t played as much this season, but he's very fast around the pitch, he's very strong on the ball, so he gets more time on the ball than most players in the central area, because he moves his feet so fast. Then, normally, he can run forever, but he was sick this week.”
“He played well with his teammates, and that's the most important thing. It's not about getting in and playing a good individual game; it's about getting in and playing well with the rest of the team to see how you fill that position, and then the goal was just special, right? He’s a bright young man, so scoring that goal was beautiful.”
That doesn’t mean Sørensen has handed anything to Badwal, either - Badwal also spoke of some of the tough love his coach has given him, as he helps him reach that potential.
When seeing Badwal’s performance vs. the Sounders, however, you can see why he’s pushed him, as well as the work that Badwal has put in to reward that trust.
Now, the key will be to build on this, which can be hard for youngsters to do, but Badwal will feel he’s in a good position to do so.
#VWFC Jeevan Badwal on representing Surrey & the South Asian community.
— Har Journalist (@HarJournalist) June 9, 2025
“It’s special. Growing up in Surrey with a big South Asian community behind me, it’s nice. I haven’t checked my phone fully, but I’m probably getting a lot of texts. I know they’re saying, well done Jeevan." https://t.co/geGsxBc2r4
He’s got some big goals, including carving out a significant role on his hometown team and becoming the latest Whitecap to make the Canadian Men’s National Team, but he knows that he’s got a lot of work to do to get there.
Pushed by Sørensen, however, he’s happy with his own progress and will reflect on that goal as a good sign of where he’s at right now, with the hope being that it’s the start of what’s to come for him with this Whitecaps side.
“It’s a big challenge,” he said. “Jesper has had a lot of confidence in me, but he's always given me a push, after every game, after every training, he's pushing me to excel.”
“Obviously, I’m young, but he’s telling me that I can take a spot, I can build going forward. I’m one of the youngest guys, I look up to these guys, but he's given me opportunities to excel and perform when I need to.”
