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September 30th Edition
Sinclair retires from club competition & Whitecaps complete the three-peat
It is a bittersweet week in Canadian footy, as just under a year after the GOAT Christine Sinclair retired from international play, she announced her full retirement as a player will come in November.
It was, however, also a week of celebration, particularly on the West Coast where the Vancouver Whitecaps won the Canadian Championship for a third straight year, and BC Place will host Concacaf Gold Cup matches for the first time.
Plus, a hattrick for Jonathan David, a crucial weekend for Canada’s MLS sides and plenty more ahead in The Northern Pitch.
In this week's edition:
CanWNT
👏 Goodbye to the GOAT: Christine Sinclair to retire from club football
NWSL
The all-time greatest international goalscorer in football history is set to call time on her club career as well.
Christine Sinclair announced this past week that she will hang up the boots officially following this year’s NWSL campaign — with the Thorns honouring her in their season finale on November 1.
There will be hope that Sinclair can find a way to go out on top, but that would certainly require the Portland Thorns to turn things around. They sit three points into the playoffs, but have lost five straight matches in NWSL action.
Sinclair is a three-time NWSL champion with Portland, most recently winning in 2022 (alongside fellow CanWNT player Janine Beckie). Adding a fourth seems incredibly unlikely, but her Thorns teammates will be pushing hard to make it a possibility.
Sinclair will go down as an absolute club legend in Portland, with whom she has played since their inaugural season in 2013. She has also won a NWSL Shield and Challenge Cup with the Thorns.
The fates have also aligned to give Sinclair one final homecoming, as Portland will face the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite on October 15 at BC Place in the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup. Considering Sinclair spent multiple seasons with the Whitecaps, it feels like a full-circle moment.
There had been some hope and rumours that Sinclair might return to play for the Vancouver Rise in their first season in NSL, especially after a cryptic post with her in a scarf. But it appears her involvement with the club will be off the field.
Still, it is exciting to see that the GOAT will remain involved in the game in this country. But for the next month, everyone should make a point of trying to watch her in action whenever possible — because there are only a few opportunities left.
Vancouver: on October 15th, it’s time to show up and show out for the greatest to ever do it one last time.
CanChamp
🏆 Whitecaps once again prove they are the Kings of Canada
Danny Astefan / DARBY
Vanni Startini is going to have to add another year to his now-famous Voyageurs Cup tattoo because the Whitecaps boss has led his team to the three-peat.
The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Toronto FC on penalties as the match ended 0-0 after regulation. It was the second time in three years that the Caps have prevailed over TFC from the spot — and for the Whitecaps just their fourth title overall.
With a scoreline like that, it should perhaps be no surprise that a goalkeeper was the hero. Isaac Boehmer, a 22-year-old from Penticton made seven saves for the Whitecaps during the 90 minutes, including robbing Federico Bernardeschi’s penalty kick, to keep the score level during regulation.
He then stopped Kosi Thompson in the penalty shootout, helping Vancouver to a 4-2 win from the spot. For his efforts in the final, and getting Vancouver Whitecaps to that point, Boehmer was named the competition’s MVP and Best Young Player. Toronto FC’s Deandre Kerr took home the Golden Boot, with five goals.
Sartini has been campaigning for Boehmer to be included in the Canadian men’s national team, and a performance like this, and throughout the Canadian Championship, should quickly get him on that radar.
Having won the Canadian Championship, the Whitecaps have also now booked a place in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
CanMNT
🏔️ The Gold Cup is coming to Vancouver
Concacaf
For the first time ever, the Concacaf Gold Cup is coming to Vancouver as BC Place was announced as a host venue for the 2025 tournament, which will kick off on June 14.
Exactly how many games the stadium will be allotted remains to be seen, but BC Place was one of three stadiums which will host Gold Cup matches for the first time.
The most recent tournament, in 2023, saw a pair of matches played in Canada at BMO Field, including a disappointing 2-2 draw for CanMNT against Guadeloupe.
With the World Cup a year after the 2025 tournament, this competition will be an important test for the venues, including BC Place, which will host World Cup matches in 2026.
Also this week, Canada Soccer announced that the men’s national team will be hosting a training camp in Montréal after failing to secure a second friendly in the window due to a lack of availability for other federations. Instead, the camp will feature an open training session at Stade Saputo and an expanded 26-player roster to get a wide look at the player pool.
CanMNT head coach Jesse Marsch has been clear in the fact that he wants to bring this team to different cities across Canada in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup. This feels like the start of that effort, and Canadian footy fans can expect more games across the country over the next few years.
Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad
CanMNTBible
🇫🇷 Jonathan David scored a hat trick. It was a good day for JD. Lille travelled to play against Le Havre, and the Ottawa striker decided to score all three goals in the game. JD completed a perfect hat trick, scoring with his right foot, left foot and a header. JD sits second in the Golden Boot race with five goals in six league games.
🏴 Olivia Smith had her first FA WSL goal. The 20-year-old is already doing the business in England. In just her second game after signing with Liverpool for a club record fee, she opened her account in a 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday with a lovely goal, showcasing her ability. If she can keep this up, she will be a star for the Reds in no time.
🇮🇹 Évelyne Viens continues to score. Roma’s #7 once again found the back of the net for Roma this weekend. The striker’s Serie A Femminile-leading third goal of the season came off a tidy finish inside the box. Roma would also qualify for the UWCL group stages this week, routing Swiss side Servette, 10-3 on aggregate.
🇪🇺 Juventus qualify for UWCL groups. Lysianne Proulx, now across the pond with the Bianconere, joined Évelyne Viens and Roma in qualifying for the group stage in entertaining fashion. After beating PSG 3-1 on home turf last week, Juventus would seal the deal with a 2-1 win in the French capital against last season’s D1 Arkema (now Première Ligue) runners-up.
🇪🇺 UWCL group stage set. We would also come to know the groups for this season’s UWCL competition this week. Gruop A will feature Vanessa Gilles and Lyon, alongside Viens and Roma. Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence’s Chelsea were slotted in Group B. Lysianne Proulx and Juventus rounded out Group C. Group stage matches kick off next week.
🇪🇸 Cyle Larin scored against his former club. Real Mallorca travelled to play Real Valladolid. The game was tied 0-0 until the CanMNT #9 found the back of the net in the 58th minute. This was Cyle Larin’s first goal of the season against his former club. Out of respect, he did not celebrate. The game ended 2-1 for Larin and Real Mallorca.
🏴 Adriana Leon answers for Aston Villa. Adriana Leon’s first tally of the WSL season goes down as a tidy chip over the Spurs keeper to tie the game at one apiece. This clash would eventually end 2-2 as Villa claimed their first point of the season.
🇩🇪 Caroline Kehrer’s second of the season. The Winnipegger scored the opening goal for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim on Friday. Kehrer would make it a three-game goal involvement-streak, netting on a delightful chip off a fast break.
🏴 Alistair Johnston, future Celtic captain? Celtic’s dominance continued atop the Scottish Premiership against St Johnstone this week. The Celts posted their sixth-straight win, still yet to concede this season after a 6-0 win. The big news here however wasn’t the score — instead, it was AJ being handed the captain’s armband from Callum McGregor for the final 15 minutes.
🇺🇸 Jacen Russell-Rowe bagged against D.C. United. This young man is building his reputation. JRR scored his eighth goal in all competition this season on an incredible diving header in a 2-2 draw against D.C. For Jesse Marsch, picking forwards is going to be difficult going forward.
🇺🇸 Stephen Afrifa scores for SKC. Seeing JRR’s goal and not to be outdone, the September CanMNT debutant had the consolation goal in a 3-1 loss to Kyle Hiebert’s St Louis. What a consolation it was as well, rifling past Roman Burki for his fourth goal of the campaign.
🇺🇸 Mya Jones with San Diego’s opener. The Wave’s Calgary-born rookie also scored her second goal of the season this weekend in a 2-0 win over Jessie Fleming and Christine Sinclair’s Portland Thorns. The goal came late on in the match, with Jones getting the last touch to push it over the line. Kailen Sheridan would bag the clean sheet — and some final photos with Sinc, post-match.
Canucks at Home
🏡 Canucks at Home
Canada Soccer
⚜️ Montréal to host CanMNT training camp. CF Montréal will host CanMNT in a training camp prior to their friendly at BMO Field against Panama. Some may ask, why not a friendly in MTL? Canada Soccer aimed to have a game at Stade Saputo, but due to international scheduling, it was not possible. Therefore, a training session at the stadium will be available to the public. The silver lining is that we will likely see a CanMNT game in MTL.
Other News
📰 In other news this week
🛫 Here’s some random MTL news. An Air Transat flight bearing the logo of CF MTL has departed from Toulouse on a direct flight to Montréal. It’s advertising, but some may speculate it is perhaps a big name player making their way to MTL. It’s late in the season, but a plane bearing an MLS club leaving Europe caught our attention.
⚜️ CF Montréal is one step closer to the playoffs. San Jose travelled to MTL and was handed an L from a highly motivated CFM. Laurent Courtois has found his best XI, especially with Josef Martinez, Caden Clark, and Bryce Duke building dangerous chemistry. MTL’s front three all scored and assisted that night. Martinez picked up a brace, and Caden Clark scored his second goal of the season. Bryce Duke contributed with two assists, and Clark assisted the second goal of the night. MTL’s hopes are high, and the morale has been re-established with a re-invigorated squad. Unfortunately for San Jose, MTL’s win streak is very high, as they left the stadium with a 3-0 win.
🔴 Concern piling for the Reds. For once this season, it seemed like TFC could have emerged unscathed on the road. Alas, the rain that was falling across the Golden Horseshoe on Saturday might’ve been more indicative than we thought. Federico Bernardeschi would be the provider of early hope, after going down in the box. VAR would confirm the penalty, sending Prince Owusu up to find a first-half opener for John Herdman’s side from twelve yards out. Former Montréaler Ariel Lassiter would be the doom and gloom though, turning the assist on an 84th-minute Jonathan Dean goal for a 1-1 final. TFC fans will be hoping this three-game winless streak is snapped soon, as they sit level on points with Philly and MTL for the final two spots in the East.
🏔️ Cascadia Cup stalemate. Over on the west coast, a much happier 1-1 draw (by comparison) would arrive for the Whitecaps. Brian White’s 15th goal of the season would come in the early goings, the Caps taking the lead inside four minutes. Phil Neville’s Timbers, however, with Maxime Crépeau and Kamal Miller in the XI, would find an answer from Jonathan Rodriguez just before the end of the half. Both teams would hit the post in the second half (and quite a few times at that) as the hosts became the first Canadian side to clinch a postseason berth this season with the result. Doubly good news would also arrive late Sunday evening, as WFC2 clinched their first MLS NEXT Pro playoff spot with help from Tacoma Defiance.
⚒️ Forge drop the hammer. The final 905 Derby of the regular season may have started slowly… but boy, did it finish fast. Coming out of a lethargic first 45 minutes, Noah Jensen finished off a Kyle Bekker cross, arguably more fit for a 5-on-3 powerplay on the ice rink. Nana Ampomah would have the other goal, as a torrential downpour set over Tim Hortons Field. Thomas Vincensini would take deserved plaudits for this tip onto the post against Alessandro Hojabrpour. Forge, with the 2-0 win, now sit seven points clear and within touching distance of the regular season title.
🐎 Cavalry into the postseason. Cavalry FC played to a scoreless draw at home with Vancouver FC on Saturday, a match that didn’t really benefit either team in the table. VFC will probably be the happier of the two sides with the result, but failed to make up much ground on rivals Pacific FC for the final playoff spot. Cavalry, meanwhile, took a serious hit in their CPL Shield defence as they are now eight points behind Forge with just three games remaining. They did, however, finally officially clinch a playoff spot with the result.
🦕 Missed opportunities for Ottawa and Halifax. Up in the nation’s capital, Ottleti would be hoping for a win here, to keep within touching distance of table-toppers Forge. Amer Didic seemed to have set that off in motion early, converting from a Manny Aparicio set-piece inside the first five minutes. Nassim Mekidèche would get one back for Halifax though, with a corner of the Wanderers’ own. That all would mean a 1-1 draw, and, for the second time this week, a result that failed to improve either side’s fortunes.
🔱 Valour vs Pacific on Monday. There is one final match this matchweek in the CPL, and it’s a big one with playoff implications. Valour host Pacific on Monday, September 29 (7:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. PT). For the Winnipeg side, a win could put them within one point of Pacific for the fifth and final playoff spot. The Tridents, meanwhile, could push themselves to four points above the playoff line with three matches remaining.
✅ Northern Picks
This week’s picks come from Gabriel Bayona Sapag (@gabrielbayonas). He’s a Photographer, Designer and Co-Founder of CLUBELEVEN.
📺 What to watch
Zlatan Ibrahimović went on Hot Ones and you already know he delivered. A lot of sound bits from this one are going around.
✅ Who to follow
Agustin Vazquez (@aguvazq), videographer for NYCFC. I'm not a fan of the club, but his videos will make you want to move to Yankee Stadium.
🛍️ What to buy
One of the last things I bought was a Carlos Valderrama BanDai figurine from 1996 I came across on eBay, and here is another one currently listed for $10. Steal. Would be cool if MLS did these again for their 30th season next year.