Vancouver Whitecaps FC had a chance to run with the West title in the 2017 MLS playoffs with 3 games to go. Even before the final game, the Whitecaps needed a win or tie to take the top seed in the West.
Vancouver fell to 3rd place and will host a knockout game instead of resting this week. Adding even more insult is that the Whitecaps finished behind both their Cascadia Cup rivals in Portland (#1 seed) and Seattle (#2 seed).
The Whitecaps finished 0-2-1 to have an overall record of 15-12-7 for 52 points. Vancouver hosts San Jose in the knockout round on Wednesday. If Vancouver wins, the Whitecaps will play the Seattle Sounders and actually host the first game on Sunday/Tuesday.
Vancouver and San Jose played to a 1-1 tie in Vancouver on October 15. The Whitecaps finished with a 0-1-1 record against San Jose this season. The Whitecaps lost at San Jose 3-2 on March 11.
The Earthquakes just made the MLS playoffs with a goal in the 93rd minute to defeat Minnesota 3-2.
San Jose only had 11 road points all season. Vancouver had the fewest home points (32) of any playoff team.
The Vancouver Whitecaps game will air in Canada on TSN 1/3/4/5 and TVAS 2 at 10:30 pm Eastern Wednesday. The Western Conference games in the knockout round are on UniMas. If your English is better than your Spanish, tune in your SAP signal to English and you will be able to get the audio in English.
MLS Canadian teams playoffs results
| Year | Date | Teams | Winner | Score |
| 2017 | October 25 | San Jose @ Vancouver | TBD | TBD |
| 2016 | December 10 | Seattle @ Toronto FC | Seattle | 0-0 (5-4 PK) |
| 2016 | November 30 | Montréal @ Toronto FC | Toronto FC | 5-2 (OT) |
| 2016 | November 22 | Toronto FC @ Montréal | Montréal | 3-2 |
| 2016 | November 6 | Montréal @ New York Red Bulls | Montréal | 2-1 |
| 2016 | November 6 | Toronto FC @ NYCFC | Toronto FC | 5-0 |
| 2016 | October 30 | NYCFC @ Toronto FC | Toronto FC | 2-0 |
| 2016 | October 30 | New York Red Bulls @ Montréal | Montréal | 1-0 |
| 2016 | October 27 | Montréal @ D.C. United | Montréal | 4-2 |
| 2016 | October 26 | Philadelphia @ Toronto FC | Toronto FC | 3-1 |
| 2015 | November 8 | Portland @ Vancouver | Portland | 2-0 |
| 2015 | November 8 | Montréal @ Columbus | Columbus | 3-1 (OT) |
| 2015 | November 1 | Vancouver @ Portland | Tie | 0-0 |
| 2015 | November 1 | Columbus @ Montréal | Montréal | 2-1 |
| 2015 | October 29 | Toronto FC @ Montréal | Montréal | 3-0 |
| 2014 | October 29 | Vancouver @ Dallas | Dallas | 2-1 |
| 2013 | October 31 | Montréal @ Houston | Houston | 3-0 |
| 2012 | November 1 | Vancouver @ LA Galaxy | LA Galaxy | 2-1 |
Vancouver FC has had a rough going in the playoffs since joining the MLS. Even though the Whitecaps were the first Canadian team to make the MLS playoffs, success hasn't arrived. The Whitecaps lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2012 and 2-1 at Dallas FC in 2014.
In 2016, the Whitecaps got their first home game and having at least 2 playoff games. Unfortunately, Vancouver FC scored as many goals in the 2016 MLS playoffs as I did. In 4 MLS playoff games, Vancouver FC has scored 2 goals and 0 wins.
The first playoff win for a Canadian MLS team came in 2015 when the Impact shut out the Reds 3-0. Going into 2016, Montréal had the only 2 playoff wins of all the Canadian MLS teams.
Vancouver beat Portland on the last day of the 2016 season to win the Cascadia Cup. This year, the Whitecaps were a very distant third among the 3 Cascadian teams. Vancouver has won 6 Cascadia Cups going back to 2004, including now 3 of the last 5 years.
Toronto FC went 20-5-9 for 69 points, winning the Supporters Shield and breaking the league record for points. The Los Angeles Galaxy had 68 points in 1998.
Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco scored Sunday in a 2-2 tie with Atlanta United.
If Chicago beats the New York Red Bulls in the knockout round, the Reds will draw the Atlanta-Columbus winner. Otherwise, the Red Bulls will be Toronto's opponent. New York City FC is the #2 seed in the East.
The Supporters Shield is no guarantee of a MLS Cup. The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy was the last team to win both.
CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage
The Montréal Impact finished with a 11-17-6 record for 39 points, 9th in the East. The Impact were eliminated when the New York Red Bulls defeated Vancouver on October 7.
Sunday was the final game for Impact captain Patrice Bernier at the age of 38. Bernier, a Quebec native, played for the Impact in 2000 in the old USL A-League. He rejoined the club in 2012 when Montréal was brought into the MLS.
Montreal Impact gets extra telecast on Fox but with a huge catch
2017 MLS preview
2017 Canadian MLS teams U.S. TV schedule
| Date | Game | Time | U.S. TV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 31 | Sporting Kansas City @ Toronto FC | 7:30p | FS1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 6 | Toronto FC @ Seattle | 4p | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 23 | Portland @ Vancouver | 6p | FS1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 30 | NYC FC @ Toronto FC | 2p | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| August 27 | Toronto FC @ Montréal | 4:30p | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 24 | Montréal @ Atlanta FC | 5p | Fox*/Fox Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 7 | Vancouver @ NY Red Bulls | 5p | UniMas/Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All times Eastern. *-- available in some Fox markets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The U.S. audience got as many telecasts involving Canadian teams (7) as CTV ran in its early season telecast schedule. For the few Americans who could get CTV, you got 13 telecasts (both countries carried Toronto FC @ Seattle).
The final 2 telecasts were intriguing stories in themselves. We wrote about the bizarre scenarios over which audiences got to see a second Montréal Impact game. The second Vancouver Whitecaps telecast required a SAP signal or a willingness to watch a soccer match on Facebook.
logos credit: MLS/Vancouver Whitecaps FC/Toronto FC Reds
Comments