KEY TAKEAWAYS: Togetherness, resilience secret to Vancouver Whitecaps' CanChamp three-peat
For large portions of the 2024 Canadian Championship final, it wasn’t looking good for the Vancouver Whitecaps and their quest to achieve a Canadian Championship three-peat.
Despite entering the match as strong favourites to dispatch Toronto FC, they spent most of the game on the back foot, as TFC came out flying in search of an upset.
And to TFC’s credit, they nearly did what they needed to do to win in regular time. They held more of the ball, generated better chances (including a penalty), and dictated the terms of the game.
In the end, however, that didn’t matter. When the moment came to decide the match, the Whitecaps did what they needed to do to win, and now sit in that special three-peat club after a clinical penalty shootout win.
THE MOMENT ✨#VWFC win the 2024 TELUS #CanChamp, beating #TFClive on penalties with this winning strike 👇 pic.twitter.com/NS13Ugwmwm
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024
Was it a performance they’ll look back on with fond memory, such as they might with the dominant showing they had against CF Montréal in the 2023 Canadian Championship final? Probably not.
And they won’t mind that. At the end of the day, as good teams tend to do in big games, they found a way to win, and that’s what they’ll remember from this game.
For a team that has struggled to win these kinds of games in the past, it’s a key sign of their evolution, which is why head coach Vanni Sartini had no problem celebrating what they achieved even if he also thought his side were far from their best on the day.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Sartini said in his post-game press conference. “I told them before the game, and I told them after the game. This game is the victory of love, the love that these guys have for each other, of the togetherness of this group, of the fact that everyone was really important for each other.”
“Because even in a day where we didn't play well, TFC played better than us, TFC deserved to win this game, let's be honest, but we fought, we fought, we fought, we fought, and even though we were in a difficult position for most of the game, I think we've been the best team only 30% of the game, for 70% of the game, TFC were the best team, but we were able to contain them.”
Ultimately, as seen across the world, good teams find a way to win these big games, and the Whitecaps did that to help further prove why they’ve been the top side in Canada for the last few years.
“I totally agree. It’s all about the togetherness and the awareness,” Sartini said of his team’s ability to win ugly when not at their best. “We said let's push because, in those 15 minutes where we were the best team, we created two, three chances, and then there (was the chance) in the second half with (Ryan) Gauld crossing and (Kevin) Long made a fantastic defensive play. But we also defended, 12 corners or something, and the way we defended was fantastic, and I think it tells you the moral quality of this team and the belief that we have now as a team.”
CANADIAN CHAMPIONS 🇨🇦#VWFC – the 2024 TELUS #CanChamp winners, for a third consecutive year, hoist the Voyageurs Cup at BC Place! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2sC8BdvVaN
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024
At the same time, while the Whitecaps will look at this game as an example of the progress they’ve made as a group, and the togetherness they showed in a moment of adversity, they also have the play of one individual to thank for getting the job done in the end.
That’s the play of their 22-year-old homegrown goalkeeper, Isaac Boehmer, who was easily their best player on the night, and arguably the best player on the pitch.
Certainly, for a Whitecaps team filled with quality across the pitch, they would’ve been worried about their chances of winning this final if told before the game that their backup goalkeeper would be their POTM, but Boehmer found a way to step up in a big way for his side at a key moment of need to appease any potential fears.
After making seven saves in the game, including a massive stop on a penalty from Federico Bernardeschi in the 38th minute, Boehmer came up huge in the penalty shootout, denying Kosi Thompson with a big save to pave the way for Vancouver to win.
“Isaac was amazing,” Whitecaps centre back and winning penalty taker, Bjørn Inge Utvik, said of Boehmer. “He saved that penalty in the first half, and that made us even more confident in the second half, to keep working and to keep our structure.”
BERNA DENIED 🙅♂️#VWFC GK Isaac Boehmer with a HUGE SAVE on the #TFClive attacker to keep this TELUS #CanChamp final at 0-0 💥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024
A big-time moment for a big-time 'keeper 😎
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/i1Sv4JTrTU
Yet, that’s why Boehmer was deservedly named the George Gross Memorial Trophy winner as tournament MVP, along with best young Canadian, as this was a breakout tournament for the young goalkeeper.
Having entered this year with just four first-team appearances under his belt, otherwise sitting with 19 MLS Next Pro appearances for the Whitecaps second team and one CPL appearance with CPL side Pacific FC from his short-term loan to them in 2021, it’s safe to say that his stock has quickly risen in the Whitecaps organization over the last few months after his five Canadian Championship appearances.
Given the reins for the entirety of the tournament, Boehmer stepped up to the challenge, never even allowing Sartini to consider bringing in usual first-choice goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka at any point.
“That’s just being a young goalkeeper,” Boehmer explained. “You have to take your moments when you get them, and you're not always going to be part of the squad, but you just have to keep focused, keep working hard, and I think that’s shown over the last year.”
And he rewarded his manager for that faith with a top performance in a big moment in this final, capping off a tournament to remember with a deserved MVP nod after allowing just two goals in those five games, keeping three clean sheets, making 20 saves and performing 2.36 xG above expected in those games.
With that, it showed that it won’t be long until the Whitecaps let him get MLS opportunities, as he certainly showed he’s deserving of more looks at higher levels, perhaps even internationally according to Sartini.
“Isaac (Boehmer) was amazing,” Sartini said. “When everyone works together, someone steps up and takes someone on their shoulders, usually it’s (Ryan) Gauld or Brian (White) - well, today it was Mr. Isaac Boehmer from Okanagan Falls.”
“I hope that (CanMNT head coach) Jesse (Marsch) watched the game, because I think that there are not too many Canadian goalkeepers better than him.”
Meanwhile, for Toronto, despite their loss, they’ve got lots to be proud of.
At the end of the day, they were the better team in this final and were nearly flawless tactically on both sides of the ball, but just lacked execution in the key moments.
But for them to go up against a Whitecaps team that is just reaching their peak as a group and play as they did is a good sign of what this TFC team can be.
Still early in their evolution in their team, sitting in just their first year under head coach John Herdman, they can look at this performance against a good team and see reasons for optimism as they continue to build as a team.
They still have work to do to ensure they turn performances like that into wins in the future, which will lead to questions about the top-end of their roster and how it’s constructed, but for a team that has lacked this sort of fight and spirit for much of the last few years, they’ll see that as a good reference point for where they’re at.
“It started with clarity,” Herdman said of their performance. “They needed that clarity on some of the Whitecaps patterns, and they came into the game with that clarity. Then, it comes down to effort, and we've seen spurts of that effort from the team, the collective, the whole team, throughout the season. When that effort and intensity is there, we're a very good team, and tonight, they maintained that effort. That was key. I don’t think any man took it down a gear, as we've seen that too often with this team, we drop gears in key moments in games, TFC fans have seen that, but today they kept that gear, so we’ve got to take that forward.”
Now, the big key for them will be to take the post-lost feeling and bottle it up going forward. Still in the hunt for the MLS Cup playoffs, sitting in the eighth playoff spot with three games to go, they want to finish the year strong and return to the postseason for the first time since 2020.
Then, next year, they’ll want to get their revenge in this tournament, having been so close to winning just their second Canadian Championship since 2018.
Because of that, look for them to take this result in stride. That’s why they stayed out on the field to watch the Whitecaps trophy celebrations when they could’ve very easily left the field early, as they’ll want to take that feeling of defeat and channel it into what’s to come knowing that they were that close to glory.
“Respect for the lads,” Herdman said. “There are no medals for the runners-up, but the lads stayed out there to watch them collect the trophies, so I have great respect. A lot of teams just tend to walk off when you have to suffer through that. But for us, it was an important moment. I think they're a good team Vancouver and we respect what they achieved.”
MVP! MVP! MVP! ✨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024
From Penticton, British Columbia, with love, your 2024 TELUS #CanChamp Tournament MVP AND U-23 MVP? 👀#VWFC goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/OafZ3RrKE6
Speaking of those Whitecaps, however, it’s worth noting that this final win is just a small pit stop in what they hope is a busy fall.
Having now achieved this big goal of winning a three-peat, their next goal is making a deep run in the MLS Cup playoffs, having won just one playoff game in their MLS history, with their best finish being a pair of Western Conference semi-final appearances in 2015 and 2017.
Currently sitting in a good position in MLS play, seventh in the Western Conference but three points behind fourth place and five points behind second place, they’ve got a chance to finish the regular season on a high note.
Able to clinch a playoff spot as soon as this weekend, and sitting with a run of four straight home games, they’ve got every chance to push up the table and give them favourable seeding ahead of the playoffs, where they’ll want to go on the sort of deep run they’ve been craving for years.
To do that, however, they’ll hope that their Canadian Championship success can help them push them onwards towards that, as it’s proved to them that they can win big games and bring home trophies.
While they know that this run of Canadian Championships is massive for the club given their past struggles in the competition, this is a team that is designed to damage in MLS play, and they want to prove that with a strong playoff run this fall.
“I hope that is going to bring us a push and the awareness that we are a good team so that we’re going to push for the playoffs and reach the second round,” Sartini finished.
