May 26th Edition

It’s a wild week ahead in Canadian soccer.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are in a continental final, the Canadian Women’s National Team host Haiti in Winnipeg, both national teams had roster drops, the CPL is on Tour in Québec, the Canadian women’s U-20 team will look to qualify for the U-20 World Cup down in Costa Rica, and there’s a little thing called the UEFA Champions League final as well thrown in the mix.

Did we miss anything? Probably, there’s that much going on.

All that plus the CPL announced a change at the top, The Canadian Championship continues to deliver upsets, and more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

In this week's edition:

• 🌊 Whitecaps in Champions Cup Final

• 🏆 CanChamp Quarter-Final Leg 1

• 🇨🇦 Desiree Scott home friendly

• 💼 Mark Noonan resigns

• 🌍 Canucks Abroad

• ✨ NSL Recap

• ⚽️ Canadian MLS Recap

• 🍁 CPL Recap

• 📰 In Other News

CONCACAF

🌊 Whitecaps in Champions Cup Final

On Sunday in Mexico City, one of the biggest games in Canadian club football history will be played

The Vancouver Whitecaps take on Cruz Azul in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup final, just the third Canadian team to reach the finale. The single-game final kicks off on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET on OneSoccer.

The only other two Canadian finalists? CF Montréal who lost in 2015 to Club América, and Toronto FC who lost in 2018 on penalties to Chivas Guadalajara. Both of those were over two legs, while this is a one-and-done.

Now, can the Whitecaps write a different story for themselves, just as they have been doing all along during this incredible run? They’ve already gone through a gauntlet of giants of the region, defeating Monterrey, Pumas and Inter Miami.

The Whitecaps have the benefit of recent experience at the stadium, as they earned a big result against the stadium’s primary tenant, Pumas UNAM, in the quarter-finals. They still have not lost in Mexico during this run, but they have not won either.

Cruz Azul have all kinds of history in this competition, winning it six times and reaching the final a further two. For the Whitecaps, meanwhile, this is as far as they’ve ever been.

The sides come into the match in different circumstances. The Whitecaps have been incredibly busy, playing 6 games in 15 days leading up to the final. Cruz Azul, meanwhile, were eliminated in the semi-final of the Clausura play-offs and will have gone 14 days without a match before the final. Rest vs. rust and all that.

Vancouver will unfortunately be without star midfielder Sebastian Berhalter for this match, who misses out through yellow card accumulation.

The match, however, will see a battle between the two leading goal-scorers of the tournament: Mexican international Ángel Sepúlveda (7 goals), and the Whitecaps’ Brian White (6 goals).

It all comes down to this. Can the Caps pull off one more miracle?

CanChamp

🏆 CanChamp Quarter-Final Leg 1

CanChamps never fail to impress. This competition carries the spirit of England’s FA Cup. Giants have been humbled and smaller clubs are proving their worth.

A reminder: the quarterfinals and semi-finals are a two-legged affair with no away goals. Each team will have an opportunity for a comeback but the results have set the tone in the two-game series.

Vancouver FC hosted Cavalry to a draw. The Eagles took the lead in the 42nd from a scrappy sequence of play off a corner. David Norman converted a goal off a loose ball. However, VFC would lose the lead in the 84th minute from a brilliant performance from Tobias Warschewski. With no away goals, this remains to be anyone’s game.

Valour holding MLS giants to a draw. Valour, you’ve impressed us. The Winnipeg club hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps and held the West Coast leaders to a 2-2 draw. Valour held a 2-1 lead for the majority of the game until Ali Ahmed’s banger in the 80th minute.

For Valour, this was an impressive performance. If they address their mistakes and take what they learn, the return leg at BC Place on July 9th can be an interesting one. That is, if they can survive the Caps at home.

Forge strike first against CF Montréal. It’s been a long three months for CF Montreal and this game epitomized their season. It was a tense game, but if we’re being honest, it was mid-level football for both sides. However, Forge repeated what they did last year, defeating MTL in the CanChamps through a Brian Wright goal. 

CF MTL is in hot water. They lost at home 6-1 to Toronto and now have lost the first leg to Forge. Things are not looking good, and the supporters are growing impatient. Although it is only a 1-0 lead for Forge, this is the only competition that MTL has a realistic chance at winning silverware. But with this performance, realistic is slowly becoming a fantasy.

CanWNT

🇨🇦 Desiree Scott home friendly

Another Canadian legend will receive her flowers this week as Desiree Scott comes out of international retirement to get a special send-off.

The Canadian women’s national team host Haiti in a friendly on Saturday, May 31 (2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT) in Scott’s home city of Winnipeg. The Haitian women’s national team are currently ranked 53rd in the World.

‘The Destroyer’ played a stunning 187 times for Canada, winning gold in Tokyo as well as bronze at the London and Rio Olympics. She also played at three Women’s World Cups.

Other than Scott, notable callups include Simi Awujo who returns to the group after a strong showing at the World Sevens Football competition for Manchester United. Holly Ward gets another call after her strong start with the Rise, and dual-national defender Zara Chavoshi gets her first Canada senior call-up.

Following their match in Winnipeg, Canada travel to Stade Saputo in Montréal for a second friendly against Haiti on Tuesday, June 3 (7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT). Both matches will be live on OneSoccer.

CPL

💼 CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan resigns

There was some pretty unexpected news out of the Canadian Premier League office this week, as league commissioner and Canadian Soccer Business CEO Mark Noonan announced his resignation.

Noonan had been the league’s commissioner since September 2022. During that time he professionalized the league in a lot of ways, overseeing the change in its competition format, adding Vancouver FC, the CPL on Tour match, and several other key initiatives.

A day later, Canadian Soccer Business announced that James Johnson had been promoted as the Group CEO, a new position within the organization. He brings an impressive resume including time with Football Australia as well as FIFA, the AFC and City Football Group.

As for who the new CPL commissioner is? That detail has yet to be revealed, but it does not appear that it is part of Johnson’s job description. More change at the executive level in Canadian soccer. It remains to be seen whether this is a positive development or not.

Canucks Abroad

🌍 Canucks Abroad

🇧🇪 Promise David is a Belgian champion. Union St. Gilloise played against Gent and defeated the visitors 3-1. The victory has confirmed USG as Belgian champions, and Promise David scored two goals in this match. With a Canadian flag on his back, a hat in reference to One Piece character Luffy and a top interview with DAZN Belgium, PD has lifted a league title and finishes the season with 19 goals and four assists in the Belgian First Division. USG will also play Champions League football next season.

👀 Paris FC and Brighton are eyeing Promise David. Promise David is quickly becoming a hot commodity in France. Last week, Lille was noted to be interested in PD, and this week, newly promoted Paris FC have been reported to be interested in the 23-year-old striker. A move from Belgium to France’s Ligue 1 is the natural order of progression. Or, he can make the jump across the channel and join Brighton & Hove Albion. The South England club are famous for scouting and developing talent, and this could be the perfect environment for PD to elevate his game.

🇩🇪 Vanessa Gilles joins Bayern Munich. Two of Canada’s biggest stars are now with the German double-champions. Gilles made her Lyon departure official on Tuesday, signing for the UWCL quarter-finalists through 2028. With Alphonso Davies already there on the men’s side, Bayern is starting to become Canada’s club even more.

🇮🇹 Juventus is challenging Napoli for Jonathan David. When will the JD transfer story end? Until a decision is made, we want the best for him. As of late, it has been reported that Juventus are interested in the free agent striker and are aiming to challenge Serie A champions Napoli in their bid. In Italy, it appears that Napoli and Inter Milan are the only serious options.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Daniel Jebbison scored against Manchester City. As the Premier League comes to a close, City’s position in the table will be locked in at third place. For Daniel Jebbison, a goal against City would be a good way to end the season. Bournemouth travelled to Manchester on Tuesday for their penultimate game of the season. Despite losing 3-1 to City, Jebbison will be happy to have scored the only goal for Bournemouth.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Simi Awujo is tearing up 7-aside for Manchester United. It’s wild to see the rise in popularity of 7s football. This year was the inaugural launch of the World Sevens Football tournament. Manchester United was one of eight clubs that participated. In this competition, Simi shined. The CanWNT baller scored against Benfica and Bayern Munich. 

🇦🇹 Nael Kane debuts in Austria. The Ottawa-born forward and CF Montréal academy graduate has made his first first-team appearance for the Austrian top-flight club LASK. The game ended 0-0 against Altach, but luckily, Kane was given the full second half to play. Keep an eye on this one, the youth has a lot of promise.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Alistair Johnston and Celtic lose in the Scottish Cup final. Celtic played against Aberdeen at Hampden Park for the Scottish Cup final. The game was levelled 1-1, and all goals were counted as own goals. The game went to PKs, where Celtic lost 4-3. Alistair Johnston was among the two who failed to convert their penalties. It was a fine penalty, but the keeper read the shot. Aberdeen were crowned Scottish Cup champions.

🌊 Adriana Leon nets a brace. Dri is heating up at the right time. The San Diego Wave washed the North Carolina Courage away, 5-2, with Leon providing two trademark goals, complete with poachers’ finishes.

🇪🇸 Tajon Buchanan with an assist. The Yellow Submarine hosted Andalucian giants Sevilla. The home side defeated Sevilla 4-2. TJ contributed an assist for Villarreal’s second goal scored by Pape Gueye. That is Buchanan’s second assist of the season.

🏆 Some Canucks have qualified for UEFA Champions League. As European seasons come to an end, clubs started booking their tickets to next season’s Champions League. So far, 29 out of 36 clubs have qualified for the competition. Bayern Munich and Alphonso Davies will return to the competition. Promise David (Union St. Gilloise) and Tajon Buchanan (Inter Milan) have also qualified. If TJ were to remain at Villarreal, he would still play in the CL as they have also qualified. Lastly, if JD were to move to Napoli, Inter Milan or Juventus, he would still be guaranteed Champions League action with any of those clubs.

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Northern Super League

✨ NSL Recap

🏔️ Rise complete the comeback. The Halifax Tides started bright with Vancouver missing midfield stalwarts Quinn and Nikki Stanton. Syd Kennedy dished a nice nutmeg assist to fellow Haligonian Saorla Miller. However, Lisa Pechersky found another gear with a goal and an assist on Mariah Lee’s winner in a 2-1 final.

🔴 AFC avenge their season opener. Two audacious efforts sealed the deal for AFC Toronto, piling on the misery for the Montréal Roses. Esther Okoronkwo pulled out another banger while CanWNT midfielder Emma Regan followed up in the second half going bar-down in a 2-0 win.

🦉 Rise and Wild traded blows. This one started fast. Within the first 20 minutes, Vancouver’s Holly Ward skinned two defenders to assist Mariah Lee, and Calgary’s Kahli Johnson pulled out a spin move to level the score. Both teams also hit the woodwork in the final minutes of this 1-1 draw.

🪽 Rapid and Roses draw in a controversial finish. The Montréal Roses made four changes on the back of a three-game winless streak. Rookie defender Stéphanie Hill, one of those changes, scored in her first start. Ottawa Rapid’s DB Pridham would be sent to the spot late on, and was clinical with the chance as the match finished 1-1.

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Major League Soccer

⚽️ Canadian MLS Recap

🔵 Les Français à Montréal. World Cup winners Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud and LAFC landed in la Belle Province to face off against CF MTL. People had little faith in the home side, but it was not a bad performance. Some would say that MTL fumbled a 2-1 lead in the second half. However, despite an abysmal MTL side against the fourth-best team in the West, they held their ground. Also, it almost felt scripted that Giroud would score the equalizer. For LAFC, this draw was an L. For CFM, this draw is a bounce-back from the loss against Forge.

🔴 TFC continue to struggle at home. Despite losing 2-1 against Nashville, this was a close game, and TFC played decently. Even with Nashville taking the lead in the 57th minute, TFC were applying tremendous pressure on Nashville’s backline. Chances were being created, and Sean Johnson was cooking. However, the game was truly sealed when Sam Surridge scored the second goal in the 89th minute. The silver lining? Oso is back, and he scored a banger of a consolation goal.

🌊 Vancouver Whitecaps, you are the truth. This game had four goals in the first half, and a comeback brought to you by the Whitecaps. Real Salt Lake hosted Vancouver and quickly put in work, scoring two goals within the first four minutes. Right on cue, enter Brian White with a header in the 20th and a penalty in the 25th minute. White now has 71 goals in MLS. The chances that were created for him by the midfield were industrious. In the end, it was midfielder Pedro Vite to put the game to bed with a banger outside the box. The game ended 2-3 for the Whitecaps.

Canadian Premier League

🍁 CPL Recap

⚓️ Halifax Wanderers are now tied on top. Atletico Ottawa travelled to Halifax to face off against title contenders the Wanderers. It was a tight affair for the majority of the game. However, it was the home side that drew first blood with a goal from Thomas Meilleur-Giguère in the 75th minute. HFX would double their lead in the 79th minute with a penalty converted by Tiago Coimbra. The game ended 2-0 for Halifax, and they are now tied on points with Ottawa.

🔨 Forge grind out a win in Victoria. This game could have been decided with a coin flip. It was an evenly balanced affair in which both teams shared 50% possession. It took an outrageous banger from Hoce Massunda in the 89th minute to seal the game for Forge.

🏟️ York United's first league win after six games. The Nine Stripes finally picked up their first win since April 6th. Ironically, the last time York United won a league game was against Vancouver FC. This past weekend, York hosted VFC and defeated the away team 1-0.

🐎 Cavalry thrash Valour at ATCO Field. In perfect weather for football, the home fans were treated to a thoroughly entertaining game. The first half was a bit of a nail-biter. Cavalry took the lead, but Valour remained dangerous. In the second half, the script flipped, and Cavalry went full throttle. Goals galore. The game ended 4-0 for Cavalry.

Other News

📰 In Other News

🇨🇦 Jesse Marsch has released his 23-man roster. Canada Soccer have released the roster for the upcoming Canadian Shield friendlies against Côte D’Ivoire, New Zealand and Ukraine. The surprising inclusion is Manchester United academy player Gabriele Biancheri, who was invited to the training camp. Biancheri is a forward who has already played for the Welsh youth teams but is eligible for Canada and Italy. Jesse Marsch is working steadfastly to secure Biancheri to the senior team before anyone else.

🏆 FIFA U17 World Cup groups. The upcoming U17 World Cup Qatar 2025 will kick off on November 3rd. Forty-eight teams will participate in this tournament, and the groups have been drawn for the competition. Canada have been drawn into Group K along with France, Chile and Uganda.