It was a big night for Vancouver and Canadian sports fans, and the Vancouver Whitecaps were a part of it.
The Whitecaps, Vancouver Canucks, and BC Lions were all playing on the same day. The Lions also had a playoff game and won theirs at the last minute. Oh yeah, many were also tuned into Game 7 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the LA Dodgers. This author was one of them, and now his heart has been shattered into a million pieces. Nine Inch Nails’ deep cut And All That Could’ve Been is playing as he writes this.
But this article is about the Whitecaps, of course. Like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the Whitecaps had a chance to make some beautiful music as they had a chance to eliminate FC Dallas in Game 2 of their first-round best-of-three series. They had to go down to Frisco’s Toyota Stadium to do it. But like a Nine Inch Nails song and a Reznor and Ross movie score, it wasn’t pretty from the Whitecaps. It was ugly, unpleasant, and unsettling at times, but the crescendo was great.
First half: A frustrating and physical half.
The Whitecaps were looking to control the game the same way they did in Game 1. But Dallas was not going down without a fight, as expected.
Peter Musa and Logan Farrington were leading the way for the attack and were looking to get the best out of Belal Halbouni and Ralph Priso, who were starting at the back. But Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made some excellent saves off Musa early.
Vancouver was frantic to start the game. Their passing was very scrambly, and so was the defending. The fundamentals they had in Game 1 were cracking.
They paid the price as Sebastian Berhalter gave the ball away in the midfield. Ralph Priso, Belal Halbouni, and the rest of the Whitecaps put on their invisibility cloaks, and Musa beat Takaoka. It was not an ideal start.
Dallas was being physical, Texas style. In terms of physicality, they were cooking the Whitecaps like they were a Texas BBQ. It was clear that Vancouver was rattled. They needed to breathe and settle down.
FC Dallas decided to channel their inner Canadians with the hockey-style bodychecks. At times, this did look like a hockey game, not a soccer game. Referee Tori Penso did not give out cards when Musa gave a blindside hit on Berhalter late in the half or when Ramiro gave out a big hit on Thomas Müller earlier in the half. The game was physical, but Penso, VAR, and the concussion spotters were doing a poor job, and the game was poised to get out of hand.
It was a frustrating half for the Whitecaps, but they had a half to get back to their usual selves.
Second half: Whitecaps fight back
Tate Johnson hurt his shoulder in a first-half collision. He tried to continue on, but was subbed off for Mathias Laborda at halftime. Laborda missed Game 1 due to a suspension after being controversially on Decision Day against FC Dallas. Andrew Wiebe on the Apple TV broadcast revealed that Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen told him Johnson has been dealing with a shoulder injury for most of the year.
Daniel Rios also went down early in the second half and had to be subbed off for Rayan Elloumi. The injury bug still wouldn’t leave the Whitecaps alone.
Vancouver controlled the possession early in the second half. But Dallas was doing a good job of defending in and around their box. Their low block was at it again.
Ali Ahmed, Edier Ocampo, and Müller were leading the attack. However, there were no shots on target for the Whitecaps. The killer instinct was still lacking.
Ozaze Urhoghide and Nolan Norris, in particular, were making it hard for the Whitecaps to get high-danger scoring chances. They were both making huge blocks and tackles in the box.
It felt like a goal was coming for the Whitecaps, though. Anyone watching the game could feel it coming, just like The Weeknd famously sang. And it came from a very unlikely source.
From Berhalter’s corner kick, Priso managed to poke it in. Better late than never!
Elloumi missed a sitter soon after, and substitute Jayden Nelson was denied by FC Dallas goalkeeper Michael Collodi right at the death. So that meant…penalties.
Penalties: Whitecaps prevail
Müller, Berhalter, Cabrera, and Halbouni each scored their penalties.
For Dallas, Musa and Shaquell Moore converted. But Patrickson Delgado hit the crossbar, and Norris sent the ball to row Z. Norris’ miss sealed the win for the Whitecaps, and for the first time since 2017, they were in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Stat of the match
Priso scored his first goal since June 25, 2022. He scored against Atlanta United while with Toronto FC.
What was said
“I think it was really a battle,” said Sørensen after the match. “I think it was a game where we couldn’t find much rhythm. I would say that Dallas came out as they should, playing for their lives and really made it physical…and we were on the back heel of things in the first half…I think they did what they should have done in a game like this. In the second half, we found our rhythm and we had some better control over the game. They didn’t threaten us that much towards our goal. Then we got closer and closer, and then somehow we found the net in the end…and when you go to penalties, everything can happen.”
Sørensen was very pleased with his team’s composure and how they bounced back after the first half.
“We talked about in the break that we played bad halves before, we’ve been behind before, and we managed to come back,” he said. “I think that we saw that we just kept playing the way we would like to, and also had some very good players coming in from the bench. I think the guys coming in, they really stepped up and helped a lot, getting the momentum in the end and also playing with the quality.”
Priso also spoke to the media about the team’s mentality.
“Good teams find ways to win, and we think we’re a good team, so we just have to adapt,” said the 23-year-old. “I think Dallas did a good job of making the game a lot tougher than the first game, and after a slow start, we did a good job of adjusting and finding ways to counter that. I think everyone’s been stepping up this year. If you look at this game, Tate (Johnson) goes down, and he’s amazing. But Mathi (Laborda) came in and was huge in the second half. So we’re getting contributions from everyone, from everywhere, and we just want to keep this going.”
Priso also talked about him playing as a centre-back and if he could see himself playing more there in the future.
“I don’t know if I would say I’ve been excelling, but I think I’ve been good, just putting in some solid performances,” said Priso. “I don’t think I was perfect today by any means, but yeah, I think as players we just want to be on the field. I just want to be on the field, it doesn’t matter where I play, and if I have to get minutes as a centre-back, I’m happy to do that.”
Tweet of the match
The Blue Jays World Series Game 7 loss was heartbreaking. But rest assured, Canadian sports fans, there is one more Canadian team looking to go on a deep run! They are the Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada’s team!
Wrap-up
It wasn’t pretty, and the Whitecaps didn’t finish Dallas off Mortal Kombat-style, but they found a way. Many times this season, this team has found ways to pull the rabbit out of the hat.
This team has had a strong mentality, and that is what has gotten them this far. Now, the focus is on round two. Fortunately, Vancouver has three weeks off due to the international break and sweeping Dallas. As a result, they could get Tristan Blackmon (who did make the trip but wasn’t even on the squad against Dallas), Brian While, and Sebastian Schonlau healthy before round two.
That game takes place on November 22, and kickoff is TBD. The Whitecaps will face the winner of the LAFC and Austin series at BC Place in a knockout game. They play Game 2 on Sunday, and LAFC has a 1-0 series lead.
This chapter of the Whitecaps 2025 season has concluded, but can this story be longer and have a happy ending? We shall see, as their story is still being written.
