MLS Canadian teams playoff results | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Date | Team | Opponent | Score | |||||||||||||
2013 | October 31 | Montréal | @ Houston | 0-3 | |||||||||||||
2012 | November 1 | Vancouver | @ LA Galaxy | 1-2 |
UPDATE: Vancouver Whitecaps FC lost 2-1 to FC Dallas in the knockout round. FC Dallas won on a late penalty call. The Whitecaps lost by the same score in the 2012 MLS playoffs, that time to the LA Galaxy.
The 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps had to win its final game to advance to the playoffs, and the Whitecaps scored in the 70th minute to pull out the 1-0 squeaker over Colorado Rapids Saturday night.
Fellow Cascadia Cup rival Portland Timbers had shut out FC Dallas 2-0 earlier in the evening to temporarily take the 5th spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Whitecaps travel to FC Dallas Wednesday for the Knockout Round. Should Vancouver win to advance, the Whitecaps will play the other Cascadia Cup rival — Seattle Sounders — in the conference semis in a 2-game battle.
Wednesday's game starts at 9 pm Eastern at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. TV coverage will be supplied by TSN1 in Canada and Time Warner Cable SportsNet Texas in the Dallas area.
Unlike the first 2 times a Canadian team was in the MLS playoffs, there is no English-language national TV in the U.S. for the Whitecaps playoff game. The Whitecaps aren't alone in being shut out; 3 of the first 6 postseason games aren't on national TV.
In 2014, not being able to offer national TV for playoff games is beyond comprehension. If you want to adapt this to the CFL, in Canada, you can see every playoff game with TSN. For MLS, the U.S. is the home country.
This is Vancouver's second MLS playoff game, losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012.
-
2014 MLS Canadian teams preview
-
Montreal Impact lone Canadian team in 2013 MLS playoffs
-
Vancouver Whitecaps first MLS Canadian team to make playoffs
---
Vancouver finished 5th in the Western Conference with 50 points with a 12-8-14 record. Toronto FC was supposed to join the Whitecaps in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The team acquired several key players and was off to a fine start. However, Toronto FC stumbled down the stretch and finished 7th with 41 points and 11-15-8 record.
The Montréal Impact — the only Canadian team to make the 2013 MLS playoffs — finished with the worst record in the MLS with 28 points and a 6-18-10 record.
---
Toronto has hosted the MLS All-Star Game (2008) and MLS Cup (2010), but Toronto FC has never played a MLS playoff game. The team is the oldest of the MLS franchises, having been around since 2006.
The team was supposed to change that pattern with the acquisitions of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley.
---
No Canadian team has finished above 5th in a conference. No Canadian team has ever hosted a playoff game or won a playoff game. This may change Wednesday night in the suburbs of Dallas. Having a Canadian team break through in the MLS playoffs would help the legitimacy of every Canadian MLS club.
If Vancouver beats FC Dallas, the first leg of the Western Conference semifinal will be November 2 at BC Place in Vancouver (BC Lions are in Edmonton) at 9 pm Eastern on ESPN2. Leg two will be November 10 in Seattle at 10:30 pm on NBCSN.
Having Seattle and Vancouver in a playoff series will be amazing for fans of the Cascadia Cup and the MLS.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.