CHAPTER 1 CHAMPIONS OF CANADA One by one the fans made their way from the streets of downtown Vancouver into BC Place Some brought giant flags Many took their spots among likeminded supporters groups The Vancouver Whitecaps FC had been part of Major League Soccer MLS since 2011 But fans had been cheering on pro men’s soccer in British Columbia’s biggest city for decades Now on August 26 2015 a crowd of 19,616 eager fans showed up to cheer on the Whitecaps to their first Voyageurs Cup Awarded to Canada’s national champion the Voyageurs Cup was created in 2002 That was years before the country had any MLS teams Since 2008 the trophy has gone to the winner of the annual Canadian Championship And after The Whitecaps Russell Teibert left battles with the Impact’s Johan Venegas during the second leg of the 2016 Canadian Championship final 4
Getting around FC Edmonton in the Canadian Championship semifinals was no easy task for Nicolás Mezquida 9 and the Whitecaps five runner-up finishes the 2015 Whitecaps were ready to make history TAKING ON CANADA’S BEST Five teams took part in the 2015 Canadian Championship Vancouver opened against FC Edmonton a minor league team It proved to be no minor task though After drawing at home 6
BC PLACE An older version of the Whitecaps was part of the North American Soccer League NASL They played their home games at BC Place when it opened in 1983 Nearly three decades later the team now in MLS moved back in The stadium underwent major renovations after it was used for the 2010 Winter Olympics The biggest change was replacing the air-supported dome with a retractable roof After starting the 2011 season at Empire Field the Whitecaps have called BC Place home since October of that year The downtown stadium has also played host to major events including the 2015 Women’s World Cup final the Whitecaps needed a dramatic stoppage time goal on the road to secure a berth in the final That set up a home-and-home series against the Montreal Impact for the title Like the Whitecaps the Impact had once been a minor league team They joined MLS in 2012 one year behind the Whitecaps But going into the 2015 final Montreal had won the Voyageurs Cup a record nine times including in the previous two years On an August night in Montreal the Whitecaps made their move Darren Mattocks and Pedro Morales each scored to put Vancouver up 2 0 Then disaster struck The Impact’s Laurent Ciman cut the deficit to one in the 84th minute One minute later Anthony Jackson-Hamel tied it Instead of a big 7
