Whitecaps Aim For Win In Montreal
October 15, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2W-1L-2D in the playoffs) look to overcome a one-goal deficit and defend their USL First Division championship title when they visit Canadian rivals Montreal Impact (5W-0L-0D in the playoffs) in Saturday's second leg of the 2009 USL-1 Championship Series.
Teitur Thordarson's side travel east to Quebec and the decisive leg of the two-match final trailing 3-2 on aggregate following last Saturday's first-leg defeat at Swangard Stadium. Despite two second-half goals by Marcus Haber and substitute Marlon James, the Impact claimed a slim one-goal advantage for the second match at Montreal's Stade Saputo after a first-half own-goal by Shaun Pejic was followed with second-half strikes from Peter Byers and former Whitecaps forward Eduardo Sebrango. It was Vancouver's first playoff defeat of 2009 and only the club's second defeat in their last 15 league matches (6W-2L-7D), with both of those defeats coming against Montreal.
The aggregate scoreline leaves the Blue and White needing to claim their first away win in USL-1 since July 31, if they are to retain their championship title. That day, the Whitecaps won 3-1 at Rochester Rhinos. They also head to Montreal without their influential captain Martin Nash. The experienced playmaker will miss the second leg after being red carded in the first leg following a late challenge on Impact striker Roberto Brown.
The Whitecaps are looking to win a third USL-1 championship and fourth North American title since winning the 1979 North American Soccer League (NASL) championship. The 'Caps are also looking to win a third North American title away from home, having claimed the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl title in New Jersey and the 2006 USL-1 championship in Upstate New York. Victory over Montreal would also be the eighth championship won by the club. In between the 1979 NASL title and the club's two USL-1 championships, the Whitecaps - then known as Vancouver 86ers - claimed four-straight Canadian Soccer League (CSL) championships between 1988 and 1991.
This year's USL-1 Championship Series is the third time that the Whitecaps and Impact have met in the postseason, with the two previous encounters coming in the semifinals of Vancouver's championship years of 2006 and 2008. In 2006, extra-time goals in the second leg by current Montreal players Sebrango and Tony Donatelli gave Vancouver a 2-0 aggregate win over the Impact. Last season, the Whitecaps overcame a one-goal deficit from the first leg at Stade Saputo to defeat Montreal 2-1 on aggregate. Former Whitecaps captain Jeff Clarke and Sebrango scored in a 2-0 second-leg win at home.
Saturday's second leg is also the 47th all-time meeting between the two clubs, with the Impact leading the all-time series of results with 27 wins, 13 defeats, and six draws. This includes Montreal's record of 13 wins, five defeats, and five draws versus the Whitecaps at home. The match will also be the Whitecaps 96th playoff game all-time, with the club's record of 46 wins, 34 defeats, and 15 draws stretching back to the 1976 NASL season. In fact, since the club's first NASL season back in 1974, the Whitecaps have only missed the playoffs on four occasions, with 2009 being the 13th consecutive year that Vancouver have played postseason soccer. The last time the Whitecaps missed the playoffs was during the 1996 American Professional Soccer League campaign.
PREVIOUS WHITECAPS TITLES
Whitecaps fans have known the feeling of a North American championship on three occasions. In fact, the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl remains the only major North American title to be won by a professional sports team in Vancouver.
After seeing off Dallas Tornado with two victories in the first round of the 1979 NASL playoffs, the Whitecaps lined up against Dutch legend Johann Cruyff and Los Angeles Aztecs in the second round. After losing the first game in LA, the Whitecaps won the home match before Kevin Hector scored the deciding goal in the 30-minute mini game at Empire Stadium on August 25. In the semifinals, Vancouver faced the star-studded New York Cosmos, who had German legend Franz Beckenbauer and Italian star Georgio Chinaglia in their line-up. After beating the Cosmos 2-0 in the first game at home, the Whitecaps famously booked their place in the final after Derek Possee scored the winning goal in a shoot-out after the Cosmos had won the second game 3-2 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Then on September 8 at Giants Stadium, Trevor Whymark's two goals secured the Soccer Bowl title for the Whitecaps, who returned home to the largest reception in British Columbia history, as over 100,000 people greeted the team upon their arrival.
Fast forward to the year 2006 and the current club's success in claiming their first-ever USL-1 title. Despite finishing fourth at the end of the regular season, Bob Lilley's side made light work of Romario's Miami FC Blues with a 6-1 aggregate win in the first round of the playoffs. That set up an epic encounter with Montreal, and after a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Swangard, extra-time goals by Sebrango and Donatelli gave the Whitecaps a 2-0 aggregate victory. On September 30 in Rochester, New York, the Whitecaps secured the championship with a convincing 3-0 win over the Rhinos at PAETEC Park.
The Whitecaps built on that success by claiming their second USL-1 championship in three seasons in 2008. In Thordarson's first year as men's team head coach, the second-seeded Whitecaps edged past Minnesota Thunder 5-4 on aggregate in the first round of the playoffs before getting past Montreal 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinals. First-half goals by Clarke and Sebrango in the second leg at Swangard overcame Antonio Ribeiro's goal and Jay Nolly's red card from the first leg at Stade Saputo. Vancouver then claimed the title on Thanksgiving Sunday (October 12, 2008) when a pair of headed goals by Charles Gbeke earned the Whitecaps a 2-1 home win over USL-1 regular season champions Puerto Rico Islanders.
FAMILIAR FOES
Before last Saturday's first leg at Swangard, the Whitecaps and Impact had several opportunities to learn about each other this season, as the two clubs met on five occasions prior to the playoffs. In fact, the first four matches between Vancouver and Montreal were played within the space of a month back in May and June.
The first two games came in the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship, with the Whitecaps ending the Impact's reign as Canadian champions following home and away wins over Montreal in the three-club competition. On May 20, Thordarson's side claimed their first-ever win at Stade Saputo, as goals by Haber and Gbeke resulted in a 2-0 victory at Montreal's soccer-specific stadium. A week later, youngster Ethan Gage struck his first goal for the Whitecaps men's team in a 1-0 win over Montreal at Swangard.
The Impact then avenged those defeats by winning all three USL-1 regular season matches versus the 'Caps. On June 7, goals by the former Whitecaps pair of Sebrango and David Testo earned Montreal a 2-1 victory in Vancouver. The Impact followed that with another 2-1 win over the Blue and White, as first-half goals by Rocco Placentino and Roberto Brown helped Montreal to victory on 'Soccer Day in Canada' (June 20) at Stade Saputo. The Impact then earned their third straight win over the Whitecaps on September 9, as Peter Byers struck in time added on at the end of the match for a 1-0 home result.
This is the second straight year that Vancouver and Montreal are meeting seven times in one season. In 2008, both clubs met three times in USL-1 regular season action, twice in the league playoff semifinals, and a further two times in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The only other time that the Whitecaps and Impact had met numerous times in one year was during the 1995 campaign, as Vancouver faced Montreal on no less than six occasions. It was also during the 1995 season that the Whitecaps played former USL-1 club Seattle Sounders a record eight times (six matches in the regular season and two games in the playoffs).
FAMILIAR FACES
One of the many common ties between the Whitecaps and Impact has been the number of players that have played for both clubs in recent years. The current Whitecaps squad includes two players in Gbeke and Nash that have had previous spells with Montreal.
The Impact, meanwhile, have five former Whitecaps players in their squad. Midfielders Donatelli, Testo, and Joey Gjertsen were all members of the 2006 USL-1 champion Whitecaps squad before heading east to Montreal. The trio were joined this season by goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic and experienced striker Sebrango, who is in his second spell with Montreal. The former Cuban international was Vancouver's top goalscorer in 2008, having found the net 16 times in all competitions during the course of last season.
WHITECAPS
Last Saturday night proved to be a tale of two halves for the Whitecaps. Where the team's first-half performance was not their best, the improvement of the 'Caps play in the second half made for an exciting end to the club's final home match of the season.
That second-half display provided Thordarson with plenty of encouragement for this weekend, as the Whitecaps aim for another championship on the road. "If we go to Montreal with the attitude we showed in the second half of the first game, then anything can happen," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We only need to score one goal in order to draw with them, so the series is far from over at this point. We have shown that we can win in Montreal, so there's no reason why we cannot do that again. Our team has nothing to lose, though we will have to be clever with our performance. If Montreal score the first goal, then the task will be very tough for us. That is something that we must try to avoid under all circumstances."
The absence of experienced midfielder Nash for Saturday's game is a void Thordarson could have done without. However, the 'Caps head coach is confident his squad can overcome the loss of their team captain. "We were in a similar situation before we played Toronto FC back in the summer," Thordarson said. "Back then, the guys stepped up and performed to get a result. There's no reason that our young players cannot rise to the occasion this time in Montreal."
Along with the suspended Nash, the Whitecaps will also be without midfielder Gordon Chin and defender/midfielder Lyle Martin. Chin has not fully recovered from his knee problem, despite returning to training this week. Martin, meanwhile, will miss the second leg after picking up a knee strain last Saturday. As a result, Quebec native Philippe Davies will be in Thordarson's 19-player travelling party for Montreal. Defender Geordie Lyall remains sidelined with a pulled abdominal muscle problem, while striker Dever Orgill is out for the rest of the season following a recent knee operation. The good news for Vancouver is that winger Ansu Toure is available for the second leg after recovering from the severe charley horse he sustained in the semifinal, second leg, match at Portland Timbers.
IMPACT
Impact fans will be full of anticipation for this Saturday and their team's chances of winning a first USL-1 title since 2004. Montreal were delighted to come away with a lead from the Vancouver leg of the series, with Marc Dos Santos' side able to maintain their 100 per cent record in the playoffs (5W-0L-0D). The Quebec-based outfit have now suffered just one defeat in their last 13 league matches (10W-1L-2D).
The Impact's strike pairing of Brown and Byers looked particularly dangerous in the first leg. Though he did not get on the scoresheet, Brown struck the Vancouver woodwork twice in the second half with a pair of decent chances, while the speedy Byers claimed his second goal of the postseason at Swangard.
With the aggregate lead and home advantage for the second leg, Montreal will look to build from their current situation and cap a positive end to what has been an eventful season for the Impact. "I think that the team that stays focused and organized for 90 minutes in Montreal is going to be the team that will become champions," Dos Santos said after the first leg. "We have principles to the way we like to play, so we intend to stick to what we believe in. We have no intentions of trying to defend a 3-2 lead in front of our own crowd. It would be dangerous for us to do that, especially with the quality of forwards that Vancouver have. We must make sure we treat the second game with an even scoreline and not think about the lead that we earned in the first game."
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FORMAT
The 2009 USL-1 Championship Series is being contested as a two-match, aggregate score series. If the aggregate score is tied at the conclusion of Saturday's second leg, then two 15-minute extra-time periods will be played to determine the series winner. If both sides remain tied at the end of extra time, then the series will be decided using a penalty shootout. *Unlike European club competitions or the CONCACAF Champions League, the 'Away Goals' rule is NOT in effect as a tiebreaker in the USL-1 playoffs*.
CHAMPIONSHIP VIEWING PARTIES
Whitecaps fans will have the opportunity to cheer on Thordarson's side at one of two official viewing parties this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PDT. Supporters can gather at either the Terminal City Lions Pub - located at 888, West Cordova Street, in downtown Vancouver or Boston Pizza - located at 4219, Lougheed Highway, in Burnaby, BC. Whitecaps players will be in attendance, while fans will have the chance to win prizes at both viewing parties.
Season Ticket holders who attend the viewing party at the Terminal City Lions Pub will receive 20% off food, with the presentation of their 'Caps Card. The Terminal City Lions Pub is a member of the 'Whitecaps Preferred Pubs Program'. CLICK HERE for more information about our Whitecaps FC Preferred Pubs.
You can watch Saturday's second leg of the 2009 USL-1 Championship Series between the Whitecaps and Montreal Impact live on Fox Sports World Canada (Shaw Cable channel 156) and Fox Soccer Channel in the United States. Kick-off from Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec, is at 11:30 a.m. PDT.
The match will also be shown as a delayed broadcast on Société Radio-Canada at 2 p.m. PDT. *Please note that the broadcast will be in French commentary.*
You can also listen to the match live on TEAM 1040 radio or via the internet on team1040.ca.
2010 Whitecaps season tickets are also on sale. Season tickets include all men's and women's team regular season and playoff home matches at Swangard Stadium, Nutrilite Canadian Championship home matches against Toronto FC and Montreal Impact, as well as priority listing for Vancouver MLS 2011 in BC Place. For more information on our 2010 season ticket packages, CLICK HERE or call 604.669.WAVE (9283).
USL First Division Stories from October 15, 2009
- The Decisive Match In Less Than 48 Hours - Montreal Impact
- Whitecaps Aim For Win In Montreal - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Wilkinson Receives Coach Of The Year Honors - Portland Timbers
- Top USL-1 Honors Announced - USL-1
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