TAKEAWAYS: Toronto FC survives tough Forge battle and Whitecaps hold off Pacific to set-up 2022 Canadian Championship final rematch
Now just two are left standing in the race for the Voyageurs Cup.
After two toughly contested semi-finals, two teams remain in the 2024 Telus Canadian Championship - Toronto FC, who defeated Forge FC on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, who defeated Pacific 2-0 on aggregate.
A repeat of the 2022 final, it promises to be a fascinating matchup between two teams who have delivered some memorable ones in this competition over the years and will look to add another chapter to that lore next month.
Certainly, it wasn’t an easy road for either to get to the final. For TFC, they had a more generous route to the semi-finals, as they played League 1 Ontario side Simcoe County Rovers in the preliminary round before facing Ligue 1 Québec side CS Saint-Laurent in the quarter-finals, but then they faced a tough test in Forge, who were fresh off beating CF Montréal in their quarter-final matchup.
Meanwhile, the Whitecaps had a bye through the preliminary round after winning the 2023 tournament, but then had to take on Cavalry in the quarter-finals, only advancing on away goals, setting them up for this Ferryside Derby matchup with Pacific.
Now, however, both sides will get their toughest matchup yet on the biggest stage, with a trophy and a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup sitting on the line for the victor.
Looks like this game will be on Wednesday, September 25th at 19:00 PT based on an announcement they just made at BC Place#VWFC #TFCLive #CanChamp https://t.co/irTQvXqwme
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) August 28, 2024
With that in mind, here’s a look back at what stood out from the second leg of these semi-finals, and how they played out for both teams.
Toronto’s experience pays off in Forge victory:
Heading into leg two, the semi-final to watch was at BMO Field, where Forge were looking to pull off a remarkable win over Toronto FC, who they led 2-1 on aggregate.
Despite that, they also knew that their lead was in peril. Having given up a crucial away goal late in the first leg, it meant that Toronto could advance with only a 1-0 win, unless Forge could score, putting pressure on them to be perfect if they were to advance.
To be fair, it wasn’t unrealistic to expect Forge to score, as they’d found the net five times in their previous three meetings against MLS sides this season, but it wasn’t going to be easy against a strong TFC side.
Plus, it was going to be hard for them to try and find a goal while remaining defensively solid, too, which they needed to be given that TFC was also expected to push knowing that they’d be eliminated if they failed to score.
Because of that, the first goal was going to be crucial, determining the direction of the tie.
Ultimately for TFC, they ended up finding it at the perfect time. It took longer than they would’ve hoped, as they missed some key opportunities, but Lorenzo Insigne finally slotted home a perfect cross from Federico Bernardeschi in the 50th minute, and then the advantage swung in their favour.
GOAL 🦉#TFCLIVE get their aggregate equalizer!
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 28, 2024
Lorenzo Insigne brings this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp semi-final back to 2-2 vs. @ForgeFCHamilton, picking out Federico Bernardeschi's pass and finishing well 😎
🔴 TUNE IN on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/uozg20Anhv
From there, they managed to hold on the rest of the way, as Forge struggled to muster up a late push, running out of gas after the work they put in defensively earlier in the game. Yet, that’s why TFC’s goal was so crucial - had they scored too early, Forge could’ve pushed back and had the whole game to try and score, whereas a late TFC goal might’ve been too late as Forge remained a threat on the counter-attack for most of the game.
In this scenario, however, TFC had worn down Forge just enough so that their goal ended up being exactly what they needed, and they did what they needed to do to win from there.
With that, TFC reached their first final since 2022, where they’ll look to win just their second Canadian Championship since 2018, and even this one will feel better than that other trophy, which came in that strange 2020 final contested against Forge in 2022.
As for Forge, however, they’ll feel heartbroken with how close they came to the final. Despite a tough road to this stage which included two matchups against MLS teams, that they defeated one MLS side and lost to the other only on away goals is an incredible feat, one worth celebrating.
Certainly, they won’t feel that way right now, as they’ll just see this defeat as a missed opportunity, but that’s just the nature of this Forge side and how they operate, so look for them to take that feeling, bottle it up, and bring it back to CPL play as they chase some more silverware domestically having already won four playoff crowns and one regular season title in their five years in the league. 
Whitecaps show expert game management en route to win over Pacific:
Once again, much like in the TFC vs. Forge game, this Whitecaps and Pacific clash was always going to come down to who scored first, as is often the case in aggregate ties that are only separated by one goal heading into the second leg.
In this scenario, however, the Whitecaps held the advantage as hosts, having picked up a tidy 1-0 away win over Pacific in leg one. Because of that, they knew they’d advance with any win or draw, and had a bit of a buffer in case Pacific won 1-0, which would’ve sent the game to penalties.
Because of that, they knew that they just needed to score, as it was going to be tough for Pacific to win 1-0, let alone 2-1, given that they’ve struggled to score in CPL play this year.
That’s why when Ryan Gauld found the net just 11 minutes into the match for the Whitecaps, it almost seemed like game over, as it forced Pacific to chase two goals instead of one, which was a far different proposition to handle.
GOAL 🗻
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 28, 2024
Ryan Gauld gives #VWFC a 1-0 lead (2-0 on aggregate) vs. @PacificFCCPL in this TELUS #CanChamp semi-final pic.twitter.com/a9KYhwJQPV
From there, that allowed the Whitecaps to dictate proceedings, as first they played a lot more aggressively in possession as they tried to draw Pacific out and tire them before they retreated into more of a defensive posture and tried to hit on the counter-attack later on.
They were far from perfect in both approaches, as they nearly gifted Pacific a few dangerous transition moments in the first half, and then started to sit too deep at times in the second half, but despite that, they managed to keep Pacific away from their goal, for the most part.
Yet, that’s a credit to the Whitecaps experience as two-time defending champions, and a sign of how much they’ve grown when it comes to tackling games in this competition. There’s a certain ruthlessness about their play when it comes to these games, and this second leg was a textbook example of that, as they did what they needed to do in both boxes to win, even if it wasn’t as commanding or dominant as expected.
As for Pacific, however, they can be pleased with the effort they put up, especially in the second half of this second leg, where they made the match interesting. Unfortunately, they were unable to find the goal that would’ve at least put the Whitecaps on edge, but they started to look more like the team they can be at their best, which they haven’t always been able to do in CPL action this year.
Because of that, look for them to use this game as a learning lesson. At the end of the day, this Whitecaps side has been the favourite to win this competition since the beginning of the year, as they chase a special threepeat, so this was always going to be a tough battle for Pacific to undertake.
To their credit, they kept it a lot closer than most would’ve expected given their form in CPL play, where they’ve dropped to seventh in the table, and will now have the experience of having played a Ferryside Derby in the Lower Mainland after the first three were held out in Langford.
Having now made three Canadian Championship semi-finals in four seasons, they’ve proven that they can get to this sort of stage regularly, and will now look to find a way to take that next step and reach a final next year, with this providing them some valuable learning lessons in that regard. 
The importance of the cup on full display in both ties:
Otherwise, one big thing that stood out from this semi-final? How all four teams went about approaching the tie, especially the MLS teams.
Certainly, it’s expected to see the CPL teams put their best foot forward, and rightfully so, as they’ve got a lot to gain from playing in matches like this. For a young league, to have teams reach this stage is huge, as there’s so much they can gain from matches like this in the short and long-term.
For the MLS sides, however, it can be sometimes tough to accord one’s full focus on cup competition, especially with how jam-packed their schedule is. Because of that, it was impressive to see both sides use strong teams across both legs, with TFC playing the likes of DPs Federico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne and more, while the Whitecaps relied on DPs Ryan Gauld and Andrés Cubas to carry them over the line.
Yet, that’s a sign of the respect they accorded to this competition and their opponent, as they know the value of winning a trophy and reaching the Concacaf Champions Cup, but that doing so requires going all-out in each game to chase a win. That both ties were relatively tight scorelines despite a huge discrepancy in budgets is a positive sign of how competitive these CPL teams can be in these games.
And to that point, they’ll benefit hugely from these experiences, as it’s one thing to play clubs like TFC and the Whitecaps, with it being a whole other to play them at their best in a competitive game.
James Merriman on the gap between the #CanPL and #MLS: “We're making it more difficult in these games. Nobody's getting played off the puck.” #CanChamp
— TrueNorthFoot ⚽️🇨🇦 (@truenorthfoot) August 28, 2024
(h/t @aftncanada) pic.twitter.com/jZNmaJiWhi
Over time, getting a taste of what it’s like to go against some of MLS’s top players like Bernardeschi and Gauld, who were both named MLS All-Stars this year, can only help accelerate the growth of CPL players, especially young Canadians getting a first taste of this level.
Speaking of Bernardeschi and Gauld, however, it’ll be fascinating to see them, and the other top players on both teams, go head-to-head in this final, which promises to be a great game. Given how both teams have treated this competition, it’s expected that both put out strong teams once again.
As a result, it’ll be fascinating to see the likes of Bernardeschi, Insigne, Richie Laryea, Jonathan Osorio and others on TFC line up against Gauld, Cubas, Sam Adekugbe and Ali Ahmed on the Whitecaps, in what has the potential to be one of the best Canadian Championship finals in recent memory.
After the last time these two teams met in the final, which was interestingly one of Bernardeschi and Insigne’s first games with TFC and one of the first statement moments for Gauld and Cubas with the Whitecaps, it’ll be curious to see what this 2024 final ends up looking like at BC Place on September 25th.
One thing is for sure - it’ll be a tight match, where some of the star power on both teams could end up being crucial.
