Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montreal open Canadian Championship semifinal with 1-1 draw

VANCOUVER — Sebastian Breza and his CF Montreal teammates knew the odds were stacked against them on Wednesday night.

Not only was the Major League Soccer squad taking on a Vancouver Whitecaps team that’s lingered around the top of the league standings all season, they were doing so in a tournament the ‘Caps have won four years in a row.

“When you look at it on paper, we’re almost last in the East and they are way up there in the West. So it is not a game that we should get a result,” Breza said. “But it’s the beauty of sport — anything can happen.”

An unlikely Montreal goal and some sloppy play from Vancouver saw the two sides battle to a 1-1 draw Wednesday in the opening leg of the Canadian Championship.

It was a big result for a Montreal side that was coming off a “beat down,” Breza said, referencing the 7-1 thumping his team took Saturday from Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

“The guys, we said before (Wednesday’s) game, ‘We need to stay united and to understand that we are going to suffer,'” the goalkeeper said. “You can’t walk on eggshells and say like, ‘Oh no, we’re the same.’ No. (The Whitecaps) are where they are for a reason.

“But if you approach the game the right way, then you can get a draw out of a team that doesn’t really lose at home.”

The ‘Caps are the tournament’s defending champions and have hoisted the Voyageurs Cup four years in a row. No team has claimed five straight Canadian Championship titles.

Vancouver came into Wednesday’s matchup sitting first in the MLS Western Conference standings with a 13-4-4 record while Montreal (5-11-6) are second last in the East.

Yet it was le Bleu-blanc-noir who opened the scoring in the 16th minute.

Midfielder Dani Pereira picked a ball off of Oliver Larraz in the centre circle and chipped a quick shot up. The ball sailed over Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer as he tried to sprint back into position, giving the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

“I would say if I was them, a brilliant goal well taken. From my side, I think it was unfortunate,” said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen. “But that’s how you look at it. We’re all biased in this business.”

Breza found the strike more convincing.

“I just felt as soon as he got the ball, I knew it was going in,” said the veteran netminder, who registered five saves across the game.

“Their goalkeeper was so high, and rightfully so — they have the ball in possession, the way they lose the ball is quick — and as soon as Pepe hit that ball — it was not even as soon as he hit the ball, as soon as he got the ball — I knew it was going in.”

Vancouver captain Ryan Gauld came close to equalizing in the 28th minute off a free kick just above the penalty area.

The Scottish midfielder sent a cannon of a shot soaring toward the net, only to see Breza tip it away.

Fabian Herbers briefly appeared to give Montreal a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute when he put a sliding shot into the Vancouver goal, but it was quickly waived for being offside. The call was upheld after video review.

Three minutes later, Breza came up big once again, diving across the goal line to turn away an Edier Ocampo shot at the post.

Vancouver controlled 66 per cent of possession across the first half and outshot Montreal 8-3 with a 2-1 edge in on-target shots, but trailed 1-0 heading into the break.

Another free kick gave the ‘Caps a prime opportunity in the 68th minute.

Thomas Muller’s attempt hit a player in Montreal’s wall but Breza followed the deflected ball and made a stop.

Montreal’s attack wasted no time turning the play up the field, and newly acquired Alexis Sanchez tapped a backdoor shot in past Boehmer. The goal was again called offside.

The Whitecaps finally found their equalizer in the 72nd when Caicedo sprinted along the wing, leaving his defender in the dust, and sent a pass into Gauld, who ticked a quick shot in past Breza to make it 1-1.

Caicedo — who came off the bench for Emmanuel Sabbi in the 66th minute — showed his speed again in the 78th minute, collecting a ball in the midfield and darting in for a chance before falling inside the penalty area.

The Ecuadorean had another opportunity deep into stoppage time with a shot from the top of the area that went just wide of the post.

The Whitecaps need to be more clinical when it comes to scoring, Gauld said.

“I think we got in OK positions. We didn’t create too many huge openings,” he said. “We could just be a little bit better with our end product. So just making sure when the chances come again, we hopefully do a better job at the moment.”

The two MLS clubs are set to face off Sept. 16 in the second leg of the two-game aggregate series in Montreal.

With Wednesday’s draw, the second leg becomes a one-off game where everything will be on the line, Gauld said.

“Thankfully, we do have the second game to put in, hopefully, a more clinical performance,” he said. “It’s just halftime of a two-legged tie.

“We’ve all played in that before and we’ve just got to take advantage.”

The other Canadian Championship semifinal began Tuesday with Forge FC and FC Supra du Quebec battling to a 1-1 draw in Laval, Que. The two Canadian Premier League sides will meet again Sept. 15 in Hamilton.

The Canadian Championship final is scheduled for Oct. 21.

UP NEXT

Whitecaps: Host the L.A. Galaxy in MLS play on Saturday.

CF Montreal: Visit the Philadelphia Union in MLS action on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2026.