Vancouver Whitecaps not discounting Valour FC heading into Canadian Championship

Vancouver Whitecaps' Jayden Nelson (7) and Real Salt Lake's Justen Glad (15) vie for the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match, in Vancouver, on Saturday, May 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Vancouver Whitecaps heard analysts’ predictions ahead of the Major League Soccer season.

Pundits mused the club would finish 14th or 15th in the standings, that the ‘Caps were a middling team that would miss the playoffs.

“We really took that and put a chip on our shoulders,” said midfielder Jayden Nelson.

Vancouver has defied expectations in dramatic fashion — the club currently sits atop the MLS Western Conference standings and has earned a spot in next month’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final.

Now the Whitecaps are on to their next quest, chasing a fourth consecutive Canadian Championship title.

“Now it’s like, OK, this season, we really could make a name for ourselves to say we’re one of the best. And why not us?” Nelson said. “So I think to have that mentality, we need to do it again and again and again.”

Vancouver’s title defence begins Tuesday when the squad visits Canadian Premier League side Valour FC to kick off a two-legged aggregate quarterfinal series.

The ‘Caps head to Winnipeg undefeated in their last 12 games across all competitions (6-0-6) and with a 8-1-4 record in MLS play.

“Honestly, I think they are arguably the best team in CONCACAF right now,” said Valour head coach Phillip Dos Santos, a former assistant coach for the ‘Caps. ”They’ve just maintained the level of performance very high since the beginning of the season.”

As winners of the 2024 Canadian Championship, the Whitecaps earned a bye through the preliminary round of this year’s tournament.

Valour advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over semi-professional side TSS Rovers, but has struggled through the early days of their CPL campaign.

The club got its first league win of the year Friday when it beat York United 2-1, and it now holds a 1-4-1 record on the season.

“It’s kind of the monkey off the back,” said forward Kris Twardek. ”Everyone wants to get their first win as early as possible.”

The victory gave the team confidence, he added, and going up against a strong opponent on Tuesday could propel the group’s growth even further.

Twardek compared the challenge of facing the Whitecaps to some of the fixtures he played against bigger clubs while with Bohemian FC in Ireland.

“It was always the goal to get European qualifying matches,” he said. ”It kind of galvanizes the group, builds confidence. And I was fortunate to have a couple of games there like that. And it’s something that can really light an excitement in the group and be a catalyst for everyone.”

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps are coming off a 0-0 draw with Austin FC that head coach Jesper Sorensen called his team’s “worst performance of the season.”

“I think we’ve been strong over a long period of time, and it’s normal that you have games where you don’t really hit the right notes and you don’t really seem as connected,” he said.

The disappointing result and a 2-2 draw against Los Angeles FC the week before are fuelling Vancouver going into Tuesday’s matchup, Nelson said.

“I think this game is actually important for us because we’re coming off a couple ties and we want to win,” he said. “We want to definitely go into this game to get our confidence and our groove back, so it’s a serious game for us.”

The two clubs have not met since 2022 when Vancouver blanked Valour 2-0 in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship.

Even though the ‘Caps are rolling, players aren’t discounting the challenge their CPL opponents may provide.

“I think from the first whistle, it’s important to respect Valour,” Nelson said. ”I think it stems from there, (we need) to really give them their respect and try to match the intensity and move the ball fast, and be able to show why we’re playing in the MLS and why we’re doing well in our league.”

On the other side of the pitch, Dos Santos and his team are focused on what they can control.

He wants his team to know they can win, know that they can score and focus on the small details.

“It’s going to be about us being ourselves (on Tuesday). Guys don’t need and they can’t think that the occasion is too big for them,” the coach said.

“We need to look at the fact that it’s an opposition, it’s 11 guys that are going to step on to that field. And we need to play. We need to enjoy the moment. We need to understand the threats that they bring, but also know that nobody’s perfect.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published May 19, 2025.