✍️ Baltej Bining
Welcome back to another edition of Vancouver Weekly!
While many people were rightfully focused on the Canadian Men's National Team, who managed a 1-0 win over Chile, the Vancouver sides were in action, and there is some chaos to report!
Without further ado, this is Vancouver Weekly!
Vancouver Whitecaps
That was a crazy game.
In their final match of the month, the Vancouver Whitecaps were held to a 3-3 draw against DC United, with goals from Brian White, Bruno Caicedo, and Thomas Müller cancelled out by a couple of goals from Kimito Nono and a header from Lucas Bartlett.
It was particularly shambolic for the Whitecaps defence: they conceded twice from set pieces, leaving goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stranded on all three goals, with Nono having a field day on the right wing.
It wasn't all negative; the Whitecaps attack finally seems to have found some consistency for the first time since Sebastián Berhalter's departure, with this being the second straight game in which Vancouver scored three goals.
They remain at the top of the Western Conference by three points with a game in hand, which will come in their next match.
Off the field, it was a huge moment for Edmonton native Johnny Selemani, who signed a Homegrown Player contract with the club through the 2029-30 season after impressing in Leagues Cup and MLS NEXT Pro.
In terms of international call-ups, both Yadaly Diaby and Édier Ocampo were unused substitutes in Guinea's 2-1 loss to South Africa and Colombia's 1-1 draw against Mexico respectively; Andrés Cubas and Rayan Elloumi started the first half of their games and were taken off at the interval in Paraguay's 2-0 win over Bolivia and Tunisia's 1-1 draw against Uganda; Ralph Priso played 63 minutes in Canada's 1-0 win over Chile; and Mihail Gherasimencov started and played the full 90 minutes in Moldova's 2-0 loss to Slovakia.
The Whitecaps will have the week off before going again on Tuesday, 6 October, when they travel to Illinois to face the Chicago Fire in a rescheduled match from July. Kick-off is set for 5:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm CT.
Vancouver FC
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and Callum Irving saving penalties.
The Eagles have had a hectic week, starting on Wednesday.
Facing Inter Toronto, the scores were tied at 2-2 heading into stoppage time after Morey Doner and Kian Proctor cancelled out a pair of nice strikes from Ariel Almagro and Steffen Yeates.
It would get nervy for the Eagles after Callum Irving conceded a penalty for bringing down Tomasz Skublak, but the captain denied Ollie Bassett from the spot. Vancouver went the other way when debutant Carson Rassak fed it through to Luis Toomey, who dropped a defender before stunning the crowd with a long shot into the bottom-left corner to make it 3-2.
Heartbreak would follow, however, with Skublak scoring a stunning volley five minutes later to make it 3-3. Thanks to the new daylight offside rule, he was ruled onside, and that was the last meaningful moment of the match.
Fast forward to Saturday against Forge FC, and after Morey Doner's strike cancelled out Manjrekar James' opener, referee Iwan-Nikita Jecanski controversially awarded the visitors a spot kick after Thierno Bah was judged to have tripped Anthony Aromatario in the area.
Up stepped former Whitecap Lucas Cavallini, and Callum Irving made his fourth penalty save of the season to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles.
Vancouver remain in fourth place, holding a seven-point lead over the Halifax Wanderers, but the East Coast side has a game in hand.
Internationally, Mohamed Amissi was substituted on for Burundi and played seven minutes in their 1-0 loss to Togo.
Just like the Whitecaps, the Eagles will have the week off, but will be back on Saturday, 10 October, when they travel to Québec to take on FC Supra, with kick-off set for 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET.
Vancouver Rise
A huge opportunity missed for the Rise.
It's the first loss of the Iain Darbyshire era. After Alex Lamontagne gave them a 1-0 lead against the Calgary Wild, a second-half disaster saw the hosts grab three goals in a 3-1 win for the already-eliminated Calgary side.
Due to the Halifax Tides earning a 0-0 draw against the Montréal Roses, the Rise could have gone four points clear at the top of the table, but now, with three games remaining, the play-off race for the final spot remains open — with the Montréal Roses, AFC Toronto, and Ottawa Rapid FC having already confirmed their places in the post-season.
Sunday will be crucial heading into the international break, when the Rise will take on AFC Toronto at York Lions Stadium in a match that will serve as both a regular-season Northern Super League fixture and a W Canadian Championship Quarter-Final. Kick-off is set for 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
Although it is the off-season, a player represented the club internationally.
Left back Micaah Garnette made his senior debut for St. Kitts and Nevis in their 2-1 win over Bonaire in the CONCACAF Nations League, with the 23-year-old starting and going the full 90 minutes.
Midfielder Valter Sedin signed an MLS Short-Term Agreement ahead of the Whitecaps' 3-3 draw against DC United but did not get any minutes.
That's a wrap on this week's edition of Vancouver Weekly, and I hope you enjoyed it!
See you next week, Vancouverites!
