ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: Atlético Ottawa vs. Vancouver FC | 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship (Sept. 18, 2025)
Vancouver FC made history on Thursday night, becoming the first Canadian Premier League club ever to win a TELUS Canadian Championship semifinal and advance to the final. They shocked Atlético Ottawa at TD Place, holding onto their lead from leg one to win the tie, 3-2 on aggregate.
The Eagles, after withstanding torrents of pressure from the hosts Ottawa, have booked themselves a ticket to the final on Oct. 1, which they'll play against local foes Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer at BC Place.
A fast-paced start to the game caught Ottawa by surprise somewhat, as Vancouver game out of the gates aggressively and produced a handful of early chances that seriously threatened the goal. An early VFC tally would've been the nightmare start for Ottawa, who couldn't afford to fall behind by three goals, and Vancouver coach Martin Nash had evidently instructed his team to try and find one in the first 15 minutes.
Although the Eagles didn't find the net in that phase, they did unsettle their opponents, and as VFC then settled into a more compact 4-4-2 defensive structure, Ottawa started to hunt for their goal. They had difficulty breaking down Vancouver's stingy block, and by around the half-hour mark they began to look frustrated, playing ambitious long balls just to try and get it to their wingers and struggling to get into the box. Ottawa had a vast advantage in possession throughout the first 45 minutes, but their time on the ball was less dangerous than Vancouver's.
Atleti coach Diego Mejía, clearly unhappy with how things were progressing, opted for drastic action with 10 minutes left in the first half, pulling 18-year-old left wing-back Joaquim Coulanges out of the game and replacing him on the flank with Kevin Dos Santos.
It had been, for all intents and purposes, about as positive a first half as Vancouver could've asked for, right up until the final minute.
The visitors kept Ottawa's high-powered attack at bay for 44 minutes of the first half, and they were agonizingly close to getting to the locker rooms unscathed until Terran Campbell had a pass in Ottawa's half picked off by a sliding Manny Aparicio.
Atleti surged forward, and winger David Rodríguez went flying through the central lane of the pitch, checking his run in behind just enough to stay onside and receive a through pass from Ballou Tabla. Rodríguez expertly carried the ball around Callum Irving, and rolled it into the net as Ottawa found a lifeline just before the break.
The home side's start to the second half was night and day compared to how they kicked off the first. Atleti were much more aggressive and decisive with their forward movement, and they produced six shots in the first 10 minutes after halftime.
They could clearly sense an advantage; Atlético were overwhelming through the second half, with over 80 per cent possession through the first 25 minutes. They sent wave after wave of pressure, spending plenty of time in the attacking half. Rodríguez nearly levelled it around the 70-minute mark with a curler from the top of the box, but Irving steered it away with an outstanding diving save.
Mejía made several tactical adjustments as the situation became more desperate. Rodríguez started drifting wider to get more touches on the ball and play the creative role, while Dos Santos tucked inside more frequently, often trying to lure defenders toward him to open up space out wide.
After Vancouver switched to a back three for the final 15 minutes, Ottawa had to make further drastic changes. Mejía pulled Noah Abatneh off, swapping to a four-man backline in order to get striker Monty Patterson on the pitch, while also adding Kevin Ortega to the mix in place of Aparicio.
Atleti threw absolutely everything they had at Vancouver, who in the closing stages stacked their own penalty area with as many bodies as possible to prevent Ottawa from finding any space to pass through.
In the end though, there would be no magic moment of heroism for Atlético Ottawa, but instead an astonishing triumph for Vancouver FC.
The Langley, B.C.-based club — which until this year had not even won a single round of the Canadian Championship in their history — are the first ever CPL side to get to the final of a full CanChamp tournament.
In spite of their last-place position in the league table, the Eagles have captured some truly remarkable cup magic in this year's competition, and now have the incredible prospect of a final against the Whitecaps to serve as a dazzling beacon of light in what has otherwise been a trying season.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Mbomio, Cloutier (Kozlovskiy 69'), Abatneh (Patterson 80'); Antinoro, Castro (Zapater 69'), Aparicio (Ortega 80'), Coulanges (Dos Santos 36'); Rodríguez, Salter, Tabla
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke (Crawford 76'), Campagna, O'Connor, Gee; Da Silva, Fry; Campbell (Fotsing 61'), Mezquida (Norman 76'), Bah; Mbongue
Goals
45' — David Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)
Discipline
24' — Yellow: Joaquim Coulanges (Atlético Ottawa)
29' — Yellow: Michel Da Silva (Vancouver FC)
77' — Yellow: Thierno Bah (Vancouver FC)
90+2' — Yellow: Paris Gee (Vancouver FC)
90+3' — Yellow: Emrick Fotsing (Vancouver FC)
