AFTN

It’s all to play for at Stade Saputo in two weeks time as Vancouver Whitecaps and CF Montreal played out a 1-1 draw in their Canadian Championship semi-final first leg at BC Place on Wednesday evening. Montreal were outplayed for much of the match, but had the ball in the back of the net three times. Only one was to count, Dani Pereira’s stunning 50-yard lob of the ‘Caps keeper in the first half.

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, and Canadian Premier League chat. The Whitecaps continue to fly high, extending their lead at the top of the MLS West with a comfortable win in Kansas City. We pick over the main talking points coming out of that one, chat about the great weekend of results elsewhere for the ‘Caps, and look ahead to the Canadian Championship semi-final clash with CF Montreal.

Vancouver Rise once again left it until the final moment. After trailing Calgary twice and losing two players to injury, Vancouver found a way to earn a point at home, with Jessica De Filippo scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw against Calgary Wild. The results keep the Rise in fourth place on the table, with Halifax just two points behind.

One of my favourite bands during my adolescent years was Payable On Death, or as they are more commonly known, P.O.D. People may simply class them as a part of the arm pit of music history that most “Nu Metal” is, but they were so much better than those types of labels (more on that another time… in a different space?). In the late 90s or early 2000s, I got to see them perform live at a club in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was one of the greatest concert experiences of my young life.

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, and international football chat and interviews. The Whitecaps went back to the top of the MLS West after a five goal demolition of Dallas on Saturday.

Vancouver Whitecaps found their form and finish in a 5-0 destruction of FC Dallas at BC Place on Saturday evening to go back to the top of the MLS Western Conference. Some team was always going to get a hammering once everything clicked for the ‘Caps offensively after the return from the World Cup break. It took a few matches, and a couple of stinkers attacking-wise, but FC Dallas ended up being the side that drew the short straw as Vancouver ran riot over their Texan visitors.

Wednesday night at B.C. Place was a top of the table clash in MLS’ Western Conference. The Houston Dynamo moseyed on into town on a four-game winning streak in which they had not conceded a single goal. Somewhat unsurprisingly, they left on a five-match winning run, in which they still hadn’t given up any goals.

The latest AFTN Extra podcast is out for your listening pleasure. Episode 118 is an 80 minute one all about the Whitecaps, as we delve into the win in Seattle, the home loss to Houston, and look at some of the team’s woes right now. Why can they cross a ball any more? Where is the finishing? And most importantly, where is the help that the team needs now, not in the weeks and months to come?

Vancouver Whitecaps post World Cup break are clearly not the same team as the one that went in to it. There’s many reasons for that, some of which we’ll address at the end, but the team look a shadow of the formidable force they were to begin the year. Sunday’s win against an equally struggling Seattle side doesn’t appear to have been the turning point we had hoped for.

(Photo Courtesy @WhitecapsFC/X.com) Second half goals from Rayan Elloumi and Thomas Müller saw Vancouver Whitecaps reclaim top spot in the MLS Western Conference and lift a record-extending ninth Cascadia Cup, with a controlled 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field on Sunday evening.