What a few weeks of Canadian footy we have been treated to.

After epic CPL and NSL finals the past few weeks, the Vancouver Whitecaps put on a show Saturday night in the MLS Cup playoffs with a storybook penalty shootout victory at BC Place.

Plus, the CanWNT squad dropped, the CanMNT picked up a dub to end 2025, some heartbreaking news out of Winnipeg and more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

Well, that was nuts.

The Vancouver Whitecaps finally defeated LAFC in the MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday, but chose the craziest way possible to get it done.

The Whitecaps looked like they had things in cruise control by the half, with Emmanuel Sabbi opening the scoring after a crazy pass from GK Yohei Takaoka. They then added a second from Matias Laborda off a corner kick.

But Son Heung-min wasn’t about to let this be easy for the Whitecaps. The LAFC star cut the lead in the 60th minute, before scoring a free-kick stunner deep into second-half stoppage time.

On the same play, Tristan Blackmon was sent off with a second yellow. Things then went from bad to worse when Belal Halbouni pulled up with an injury and the Whitecaps went down to nine men with no substitutions remaining.

In stoppage time of extra time, LAFC hit the post not one, not twice, but three freaking times to come so incredibly close to winning the match.

But the Caps survived, and to pens it went. In a cruel twist of fate, the first shooter, Son Heung-min, hit the post. Mark Delgado then put his effort over the bar in the third round. Edier Ocampo had a chance to win it in the fourth round, but had his effort saved by Hugo Lloris.

This, however, only delayed the inevitable. Laborda stepped up as the fifth shooter and sent BC Place into pandemonium as he placed the ball past Lloris.

The Whitecaps will now meet the winner of San Diego FC and Minnesota United, who face off in Monday’s other conference semi-final, in next weekend’s conference final.

Either way, after Saturday’s instant classic, the Whitecaps are going to be feeling pretty invincible, even if we haven’t the slightest clue who is playing CB for them next week.

CanMNT’s 2025 certainly didn’t come to an end under great pomp and circumstance, especially not in front of a pretty tame crowd at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

But the boys in red still managed to pick up a solid 2-0 win in a feisty match against Venezuela to conclude the November window.

Despite a bit of a sluggish start, Canada opened the scoring in the 23rd minute on a deflected strike from Ismaël Koné, his fourth international goal.

The game took an interesting turn in three chaotic minutes between the 57th and 60th minutes. First, David Martínez of Venezuela was sent off for lashing out at Richie Laryea, before Koné was judged to have put his foot high in a tackle three minutes later and was also sent off.

It was Canada’s second red of the window, and the rest of the game was played 10 v. 10. Canada took advantage of the extra space, and in the 83rd minute put the game to bed with Promise David bagging from close range.

While not a cohesive performance from Canada, there were some positive performances. Niko Sigur and Richie Laryea were outstanding again at full-back, while Alfie Jones fit in perfectly in his debut as a central defender.

We don’t exactly know what is next for this team, but they will definitely play more friendlies in March. There is however a possibility for a January camp next year featuring mostly North American players out of season.

Another club is joining those playing on the soccer pitch in the sky.

Winnipeg’s Valour FC made official the news this week that they will be suspending operations after the 2025 season, succumbing to the same ultimate fate as FC Edmonton and the Ottawa Fury before them. The club finished sixth in the CPL in their final season, 12 points out of playoffs, but ahead of both Pacific FC and Vancouver FC.

We know on this day, we’re pouring one out for the Red River Rising and the wider Winnipeg soccer community, who have lost their professional club.

In their statement, the CPL confirmed that despite “discussions with potential investors”, no path forward was available at this time. This included “continuing the financial backing the League has provided over the past two years.”

The club thanked fans, players, staff, and partners in their own statement — though Winnipeg Football Club, the parent company of Valour and the CFL’s Blue Bombers, president and CEO Wade Miller later told the Winnipeg Free Press that the club “just could not get the attendance where it needed to be.”

Valour, who had never made the CPL playoffs, saw attendance dwindle from a high of over 5,000 in their first season due to mediocre season-after-mediocre season from their on-field product, attributed to a lack of financial support and attention from their owners by former head coach Rob Gale.

Still, there might be a rare light at the end of the tunnel for Winnipeggers. At the end of his scathing critique of WFC and Miller, Gale hinted he’s still working on bringing an NSL club in partnership with the Manitoba Soccer Association.

It’s interesting timing as the NSL has previously confirmed that they are exploring expansion for 2027, focusing on “central and western Canada”. With the retirement of Winnipeg’s own Desiree Scott this season, there’s obvious connections to be drawn there. Hopefully, it’s not the end for pro soccer in Winnipeg.

As CanMNT wrapped up their action for 2025 this week, the CanWNT named their final squad of the year for their friendlies against Japan.

After a historic 18-goal season in the NSL, 28-year-old league Player of the Year DB Pridham has FINALLY earned her first CanWNT call-up.

There are only a few other changes to the team from October, but they are big ones, with Vanessa Gilles and Simi Awujo back with the squad.

Canada will be without head coach Casey Stoney for this camp, who understandably takes time away to be with her mother, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer earlier this year. Our thoughts are with her family during this incredibly difficult time.

Assistant coach Natalie Henderson will lead the team for this camp.

Get your sleep schedule adjusted soon, because these are going to be some late ones, particularly on the East Coast. The first match kicks off on November 29 (1:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 p.m. PT on November 28th) in Nagasaki. The second, in Ishahaya, goes at (12 a.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT — on December 1) on Tuesday, December 2.

🇪🇸 Tani Time against Mallorca. Back from national team duty, Tani Oluwaseyi scored a huge backheel goal in the 83rd minute against Mallorca to hand the yellow submarines the 2-1 win. Tajon Buchanan played the ball in that Oluwaseyi bundled over the line, making the goal a bit of a Canadian connection — even if Buchanan wasn’t credited with an assist. Villarreal are in great form right now, third in the La Liga table behind only Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was Tani’s second LaLiga goal, to go with an assist.

🇧🇪 Promise David has six. A bit of a shanked effort, but they all count as Promise David opened the scoring for USG on Saturday in a 2-0 win over Cercle Brugge. It was his sixth league goal this season as he continues to be Canada’s most prolific striker in Europe this season.

🤕 Derek Cornelius injured. Some more bad news on the injury front for CanMNT as Cornelius was injured on international duty against Venezuela and probably won’t play again in 2025. As a result, it’s arguable that Canada’s entire first-choice back four are out injured. Not ideal in the build-up to 2026, although it has allowed the side’s depth to step up and show some really good performances.

🇩🇪 Alphonso Davies back in training. Some good news on the injury front, Alphonso Davies spent 30 minutes in Bayern Munich's full training this week for the first time since he suffered an ACL injury while playing for Canada back in March. There is belief that Davies could return as early as December, but he will almost certainly be back with Canada in their next full international window this coming March.

🇮🇹 Évelyne Viens on fire. Év is coming into camp, all cylinders firing. The Roma forward scored not one, but two goals this week. The first was a solid one-two capped off with an emphatic strike in a 1-1 draw against OH Leuven in the UWCL. The second came with Viens’ perfect fox-in-the-box instincts as the only goal in a 1-0 win against Como.

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☑️ You’re on the clock, 2026 CPL-U SPORTS Draft. The CPL has released the full prospect list eligible to be selected in this year’s draft, set to take place this Friday. Among the 201 names vying for training camp invites and a CPL-U SPORTS contract (allowing them to maintain their eligibility) are several former CPL players, including Nationals champion and once-York United midfielder Christian Zeppieri.

🤯 The Icicle Kick hits one billion views. No, that’s not a typo. According to the league and OneSoccer’s metrics, David Rodríguez’s incredible bicycle goal in the CPL Final reached over a billion people within the first 72 hours. Now, to get it a Puskás Award.

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🌎 National teams calling. In addition to DB Pridham’s maiden callup and callbacks for Emma Regan and Holly Ward to the CanWNT, 15 other NSL-ers will be donning the colours of their respective national teams for the November-December window. Canada and New Zealand are tied with the most on three each; the Tides’ Milly Clegg, and the Wild’s Ally Green and Meikayla Moore set to rep the Kiwis.

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