Report and Reaction: Boehmer stands tall in Whitecaps Canadian Championship threepeat

Vancouver Whitecaps made history at BC Place on Wednesday evening, lifting their third straight Voyageurs Cup after a penalty shoot-out win over Toronto FC.

After a scoreless 90 minutes, the teams headed to penalties for the second time in three years, and just as in the 2022 Canadian Championship final, it was Vancouver who were the more clinical from the spot, burying four of their five kicks.

Isaac Boehmer was the Whitecaps hero throughout, denying Federico Bernardeschi from the spot in the first half, producing a string of top saves, and coming up big to deny Kosi Thompson in the shootout. All that was left was for Bjorn Inge Utvik to dispatch the crucial penalty in the Whitecaps’ fifth kick. He did it with ease and Vancouver were champions once again.

Vanni Sartini went with a very strong attacking line-up, with Isaac Boehmer continuing his cup run in goal. But Toronto’s gameplan was clearly to come out all guns blazing and they immediately took the game to Vancouver from the first whistle, with Boehmer forced into an acrobatic save to turn away a Bernardeschi shot with just 30 seconds on the clock.

TFC’s fast start continued with Jonathan Osorio ficking on a corner to the back post, which just eluded Lorenzo Insigne, before Osorio fired over himself moments later.

Vancouver were struggling to get any kind of offensive foothold in the game, and Boehmer was called into action again in the 21st minute from a Richie Laryea shot.

The Whitecaps finally had their first look on goal in the 25th minute when Ryan Gauld rose to meet a Sam Adekugbe cross, but he could only direct his header wide.

Vancouver had found their offensive chops and Fafa Picault brought a save out of Sean Johnson in the TFC goal in the 35th minute.

The ‘Caps were looking for a penalty when Brian White went down in the box, nothing was given but Toronto went up the other end and got one of their own in the 37th minute when Laryea felt Laborda’s arm on his shoulder and needed no invitation to go down.

Bernardeschi stepped up to take the spot kick, but Boehmer produced a superb stop to keep the scores level at the half.

BOEHMER >>>>>

Bless you, @onesoccer 🙏#VWFC | #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/i1rl8LbLZj https://t.co/gVEO7GOB0j

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) September 26, 2024

TFC started the second half as they did the first, taking the game to Vancouver, and Insigne flashed a shot narrowly wide of the left post in the 49th minute.

Laryea found himself in acres of room in the 53rd minute from a Bernardeschi pass, but Boehmer came out to save his attempted pass to the back post.

The game got cagier, with neither team looking to make a mistake and no real clear cut opportunities being carved out by either side. The Whitecaps were controlling possession and looking the more likely if either team was to get the breakthrough, but they were struggling to get through a resolute TFC backline.

Boehmer, the clear Man of the Match, produced another save to deny Bernardeschi with three minutes to go, as TFC seemed to set up camp in the Vancouver half in the closing moments. They couldn’t find the goal they were looking for, however, and just as when these two teams met in the 2022 Canadian Championship final, the game was heading into a penalty shootout. And once again it was to be a centre back that dispatched the winning spot kick for the Whitecaps.

The ‘Caps went first and Gauld dispatched his penalty with aplomb. Prince Owusu followed suit for TFC, before Stuart Armstrong saw his spot kick saved by Johnson.

It was advantage Toronto, but it didn’t last long as Matty Longstaff hit his kick off the bar and the teams were level at one apiece after the first two rounds. Sebastian Berhalter put Vancouver back ahead and Boehmer superbly saved Thompson’s effort to give the Whitecaps the advantage.

White extended their lead, meaning Osorio had to score to keep TFC alive. He did, but Boehmer almost got his hand to it. That set the scene for Utvik to become the shootout hero, and just as Tristan Blackmon did in 2022, the Norwegian dispatched his kick perfectly and the Whitecaps had their threepeat.

THE MOMENT ✨#VWFC win the 2024 TELUS #CanChamp, beating #TFClive on penalties with this winning strike 👇 pic.twitter.com/NS13Ugwmwm

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 26, 2024

The Canadian Championship has been a tournament of heartbreak for the ‘Caps over the years, with so many close calls and one solitary win up till 2022. That’s now three in a row for the team under Vanni. A remarkable achievement and one which Sartini said postgame was built on “love”, with such a unified dressing room all fighting for each other.

They’ll all enjoy this victory, but they can’t for too long, with two huge Cascadian derbies coming up in MLS action over the next week. For now though, let’s just soak it all in. Champions x3.

FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 0 – 0 Toronto FC [Whitecaps win 4-2 on penalties]

ATT: 12,516

SCORING SUMMARY:
None in 90 minutes

Shootout-
VAN – Scored – Ryan Gauld
TOR – Scored – Prince Owusu
VAN – Missed – Stuart Armstrong
TOR – Missed – Matty Longstaff
VAN – Scored – Sebastian Berhalter
TOR – Missed – Kosi Thompson
VAN – Scored – Brian White
TOR – Scored – Jonathan Osorio
VAN – Scored – Bjørn Inge Utvik

STATS:
Possession: VAN 34% – TOR 66%
Shots: VAN 7 – TOR 15
Shots on Goal: VAN 2 – TOR 7
Saves: VAN 7 – TOR 2
Fouls: VAN 12 – TOR 6
Offsides: VAN 0 – TOR 0
Corners: VAN 2 – TOR 9

BOOKINGS:
15’ – VAN – Fafa Picault
45’+1 – TOR – Deandre Kerr
53’ – VAN – Mathías Laborda
90’+3 – VAN – Brian White

VANCOUVER: Isaac Boehmer; Mathías Laborda, Ranko Veselinović, Bjørn Inge Utvik; Ali Ahmed (Ryan Raposo 45’), Andrés Cubas, Pedro Vite (Stuart Armstrong 84’), Samuel Adekugbe (Sebastian Berhalter 72’); Fafa Picault (Alessandro Schöpf 60’), Brian White, Ryan Gauld [Substitutes not used: Yohei Takaoka, Tristan Blackmon, Levonte Johnson]

TORONTO: Sean Johnson; Shane O’Neill (Sigurd Rosted 72’), Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta; Richie Laryea, Alonso Coello (Deybi Flores 84’), Matty Longstaff, Lorenzo Insigne (Kosi Thompson 68’); Federico Bernardeschi, Jonathan Osorio; Deandre Kerr (Prince Owusu 68’) [Substitutes not used: Luka Gavran, Aimé Mabika, Kobe Franklin]

REACTION:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

VANNI SARTINI

On the historic three-peat victory:

“It’s a fantastic feeling. I’m really proud of the guys. I told them after the game, this is the victory of love. This is the victory of love of the guys for each other, of togetherness of this group. Everyone was really pulling for each other because even in a day where TFC played better than us, we fought, fought, and fought. I’m really happy for them.”

GOALKEEPER ISAAC BOEHMER

On seizing the moment:

“Being a young goalkeeper, you have to take your moments when you get them. You’re not always going to be part of the squad sometimes, so we just have to keep focus and keep working hard.”

On how long he will cherish this moment:

“I will remember this for the rest of my life.”