✍️ Baltej Bining
What's up, Vancouver! Welcome back to Vancouver Weekly - a TrueNorthFoot column that looks into the previous week of professional soccer in Vancouver!
This edition covers the past two weeks, so without delay, let's dive in.
This is Vancouver Weekly!
Vancouver Whitecaps
What an emotional rollercoaster for the Whitecaps in the past two weeks!
The Whitecaps played four matches during this stretch, and it started well with a 3-0 home win against the LA Galaxy after Brian White, Ryan Gauld, and Bruno Caicedo scored for the hosts, with Caicedo going viral for his unique penalty, where the ball crossed the line but didn't hit the net.
BRUNO STEPS US AND SLOTS IT HOME 😤#VWFC | #VANvLA pic.twitter.com/fF6YckBOik
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 10, 2026
Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't continue. On Sunday, they lost to Austin FC 2-1, with forward Christian Ramírez scoring a double, Brian White equalizing minutes into the second half, and Austin receiving a late red card for Guilherme Biro. A penalty would once again be the center of discussion; Ryan Gauld smashed a spot kick onto the crossbar in the first half of the game.
On Wednesday, it went from bad to worse: CF Montréal eliminated the Whitecaps from the Canadian Championship after winning 2-1 at Stade Saputo. It was a frustrating game for several reasons; Prince Owusu's brace was one filled with controversy: the first goal came off a penalty after Sam Adekugbe challenged an aerial ball against former Whitecap Daniel Ríos, who went down under little to no contact, but an FVS challenge overturned the decision into a penalty, which was converted. Owusu scored a nice second goal, but arguably should've been sent off after going in hard on Tristan Blackmon, who seemed to be seriously hurt but miraculously finished the full match. Throughout the full match, the Whitecaps were toothless and didn't help themselves, and while referee Filip Dujic didn't help the 'Caps on the day, their own play was worse and inexcusable. Emmanuel Sabbi scored a nice goal, but it was far too late and the quest for a five-peat ended.
Fortunately for Jesper Sørensen's side, Saturday was a great day. The Whitecaps defeated Real Salt Lake 3-0, with Brian White, Thomas Müller, and Yadaly Diaby finding the back of the net in Salt Lake. Ralph Priso was replaced at the break due to another injury; however, he is fine and has joined the Canadian Men's National Team for their three friendlies.
In the Western Conference standings, the Whitecaps now lead second-place St. Louis City SC by five points with a game in hand. In the Supporters' Shield race, the Whitecaps trail Nashville SC by eight points with a game in hand, though their chances grow slimmer after each match.
Off the field, the Whitecaps had plenty of international call-ups for the September-October window: Jeevan Badwal (Canada), Andrés Cubas (Paraguay), Yadaly Diaby (Guinea), Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia), Mihail Gherasimencov (Moldova), Édier Ocampo (Colombia), and Ralph Priso (Canada) were all handed call-ups.
The focus shifts to Saturday night, when they host DC United in their final game of September, with kickoff set for 7:30 pm PT / 10:30 pm ET.
Vancouver FC
The slip-up continues for the Eagles.
In the past two weeks, Martin Nash's side have slipped up a little bit; the first game ended in a 3-1 win for Inter Toronto, after Luca Accettola, Tomasz Skublak, and an own goal from Callum Irving gave the home side a 3-0 lead. Thierno Bah would get a goal back, but it wasn't enough to start a comeback for the visiting Vancouver FC.
On Saturday, the Eagles grabbed a 1-1 draw against rivals Pacific FC, with Luis Toomey's opener cancelled out by Yann Toualy's goal. That result eliminated Pacific from playoff contention, while the Eagles remain in fourth place, five points ahead of the Halifax Wanderers.
In terms of international call-ups, the Eagles got one in Burundi international Mohamed Amissi, who will represent his national team in the upcoming AFCON Qualifiers in a group against Algeria, Togo and Zambia.
Transfer-wise, the Eagles poached Whitecaps academy midfielder Carson Rassak on a free transfer, who had a breakthrough 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season with the Whitecaps second team, recording three goals and seven assists in 27 games.
In the next matches, Vancouver FC will host two games on Wednesday and Saturday, taking on Inter Toronto before facing Forge FC. Kickoffs are set for 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET and 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET, respectively.
Vancouver Rise
A couple of good results to get them over the playoff line!
In the post-Anja Heiner-Møller era, life has started well for Iain Darbyshire's side: after a 4-0 win against the Ottawa Rapid, the Rise managed a 2-2 draw against the Montréal Roses, who have become the first NSL side to clinch their playoff ticket this year.
It was two more goals for Jessica De Filippo, who takes the lead in the Northern Super League Golden Boot race with 12 goals, a single goal ahead of Roses' striker Elyse Bennett.
More importantly, the Rise have regained fourth place ahead of the Halifax Tides, currently two points ahead, as the season enters its final four games.
Next up is the start of a three-match road trip, with the first test on Sunday in Alberta against the Calgary Wild; kickoff is set for 1:00 pm PT / 2:00 pm MT.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
And at last, the dreadful season comes to an end.
The final two matches of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season have been played for WFC2, with a 5-1 loss to Minnesota United FC 2 before a 2-0 loss against San Jose Earthquakes II, closing out a season where they will not play in the playoffs after reaching the first round in the past two seasons.
Off the field, left-back Micaah Garnette received his first call-up to the St. Kitts & Nevis Men's National Team; they will feature in four Concacaf Nations League matches. Academy goalkeeper Sam Rogers has seen his efforts rewarded with a professional contract through the 2027-2028 MLS NEXT Pro season.
As previously mentioned, midfielder Carson Rassak won't be continuing with the side in 2027 after signing for Vancouver FC. Rassak had been offered a second-team deal, but the Eagles convinced him to be a part of their project. It will be difficult for the club to replace such a key contributor, but with players such as Yuma Tsuji remaining at the club, they still have quality in the middle of the park.
Now, the offseason begins for the second team to prepare for the upcoming sprint season, with the league aligning with the MLS' decision to use the European soccer calendar. Club decisions will be made on players who have expiring contracts, and if there's anything to go by from previous seasons, there will be a lot of departures, with players on the older side of the NEXT Pro age scale likely leaving.
That's all we have from this edition of Vancouver Weekly. The Vancouver sides went through a lot during the past couple of weeks.
We will see you next week, Vancouverites!
