✍️ Baltej Bining
Hello everybody, and welcome back to the TrueNorthFoot column that covers Vancouver football once per week — Vancouver Weekly!
There were three scheduled matches for Vancouver sides this week, but only two were played, so let's jump in and see how the sides fared.
This is Vancouver Weekly!
Vancouver Whitecaps
It was no action for the Vancouver Whitecaps, as their marquee Thursday matchup against the Chicago Fire was postponed to 6 October due to poor air quality stemming from the Canadian wildfires.
This could be seen as a good thing, as they would have gone into that game without star midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who was unavailable due to the league's policy on rest for returning players from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
There was some big news for the club, as midfielder Liam Mackenzie was called up to the Canadian Men's U-20 National Team for the upcoming 2026 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Now they prepare for a couple of games on the road, with their next match against FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Wednesday at 4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm ET, before heading to Allianz Field on Saturday to face Minnesota United at 5:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm CT.
Vancouver FC
What. A. Performance.
After bowing out of the Canadian Championship to CF Montréal last week, Vancouver FC made a huge statement in bouncing back, destroying FC Supra by a 5-1 scoreline at Stade Boréale.
After a couple of first-half goals from Damiano Pecile and Matteo Campagna, FC Supra quickly responded in the second half through a Clément Bayiha header, but that comeback effort was short-lived after Lys Mousset, Terran Campbell, and Aboubacar Traoré all got onto the scoresheet. Supra's Riad Bey was then shown a red card late in the game after a reckless tackle on Kian Proctor.
With this result, Martin Nash's men sit in the final play-off spot, with a game in hand over fifth-place Halifax.
Next is a big test at home as they take on Cavalry FC at Willoughby Stadium on Friday, with kick-off set for 7:00 pm PT.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
No games for Rich Fagan's side, as they observed a bye week.
With first-teamer Liam Mackenzie receiving a call-up for Canada, academy player Anyole Peter was also named in the squad.
WFC2 will take on Austin FC II on Wednesday at Swangard Stadium, with kick-off set for 6:00 pm PT. They will then start a three-game road trip, taking on St. Louis City SC 2 at Energizer Park on Sunday, with kick-off set for 4:00 pm PT.
Vancouver Rise
Another crucial win for the Rise!
The Vancouver Rise have picked up back-to-back wins to end their three-game road stretch, taking down AFC Toronto by a 3-0 scoreline after goals from Anna Bout, Jessica De Filippo, and Tori Tumeth sealed the match within eleven minutes.
That result puts them into third place, with AFC Toronto trailing them with a game in hand against the Calgary Wild next week.
For Anja Heiner-Møller and the Rise, they return to Swangard Stadium on Saturday, taking on the Halifax Tides at 1:00 pm PT, as the away side enters the match on a three-game losing skid.
That's it for Vancouver Weekly. The Vancouver sides did grab a perfect 2-0-0 record, though the fact that two sides weren't in action does certainly help.
Thank you for reading Vancouver Weekly, and we will see you next week, Vancouverites!
