It was a winding road full of upsets in the 2024 tournament to get to the same place.
Two Major League Soccer teams will again play for the Canadian Championship on Sept. 25 when Toronto FC meets two-time defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps at B.C. Place.
The Whitecaps blanked Island-based Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League 1-0 at B.C. Place on Tuesday night to win their two-game semifinal set 2-0, which included a 1-0 win last month at Starlight Stadium. Scottish-import striker Ryan Gauld scored both Whitecaps goals in the two-game set.
Hamilton’s Forge FC of the CPL went into BMO Field with a one-goal advantage over Toronto FC of MLS in the second leg of their semifinal following a 2-1 win last month at Tim Hortons Field. But TFC’s 1-0 victory in the second leg Tuesday gave the Reds the series win over the Hammers due to the away-goals tie-breaker.
The winner of the TFC-Whitecaps single-game final will advance to the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Only MLS teams have won the Voyageurs Cup, emblematic of the Canadian Championship, open to teams in the MLS, CPL and League1. TFC has won it nine times but not since 2020. The Whitecaps have won the last two Cup titles.
CPL teams are 5-17-6 all-time in wins-losses-draws against MLS teams in the Canadian Championship, with PFC 1-4 in that count with a win in four games against the Whitecaps, and a loss against TFC.
