2023 Canadian Championship — Semifinal
Pacific FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
May 24, 2023 at 7 p.m. PT /10 p.m. ET
Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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There has been no bigger match in the history of Starlight Stadium than August 26, 2021.

It was the night BC turned purple as Pacific FC stunned Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps 4-3 in front of a rapturous crowd at the Langford, BC stadium in the preliminary round of the 2021 Canadian Championship.

The result, as well as the dominant performance on that night, ignited belief within the club and its supporters. It was a pivotal moment in the best season in club history, which would conclude with them winning the 2021 CPL final against Forge FC.

“It was a game that changed the direction of how we were as a club and where we were in the Canadian Premier League, in the country,” Pacific FC head coach James Merriman told CanPL.ca earlier this week. “It was always a goal for us to be a top, top team. That kind of shifted us and then we won a championship which shifts the standards and the expectations of what it is to represent Pacific and play for Pacific.”

Two years later, the sides renew acquaintances on the Island on Wednesday night. There will be a number of new faces, as just two Pacific players who started that match, Manny Aparicio and now-Captain Josh Heard, remain on the roster, while only five return from the Whitecaps XI. But the lore of that match still echoes around the training grounds of both clubs.

If Pacific can pull off the upset a second time, the positive impact on the club might be even greater. It would mean not only a first-ever CPL final appearance for the Tridents but also that they would host that match at Starlight Stadium.

RELATED: Tactical Blueprint: How multifaceted attack makes Pacific FC the CPL’s most dangerous team in 2023

That August 2021 night was also a big moment for the Vancouver Whitecaps and their head coach Vanni Sartini. After the loss, the club announced that Marc Dos Santos had been sacked, and Sartini would take over as interim head coach. The 46-year-old Italian hasn’t looked back since, guiding the Caps to the playoffs that season, before winning the Canadian Championship last year.

His Whitecaps side enter this match full of confidence after a 2-0 victory over Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders this past weekend. After getting a bye through the first round of the competition as the defending champs, the Caps handily defeated York United 4-1 on the road to reach the semifinal stage.

With the most points (17 — seventh in the MLS Western Conference) of any Canadian side in MLS, the Whitecaps will undoubtedly be the favourite to not only win this match, but lift a second successive Voyageurs Cup.

However, while Pacific knows that the odds are heavily stacked against them, there is one major weapon that they have on their side going into the match: belief.

“I think our belief is the most important and our mentality is the most important [key to the match] because we know the team that they have, the quality that they have within their group,” said Merriman. “We know we can’t compare financially, and the resources, so it has to be down to our own belief, our own mentality.”

All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Expect a different match, as the Whitecaps now know what to expect: For better or for worse, there won’t be nearly as many surprises for the Vancouver Whitecaps when they step onto the Starlight Stadium pitch on Wednesday. The cast of returning players on their roster know what to expect, in terms of atmosphere, and the intensity with which Pacific will play. As a result, this match promises to be an even more difficult undertaking for the Tridents than two years ago. “It’s definitely different than the first time around because we know how they left the pitch that night,” said Merriman. “We know there’s players in that team, such as Russell Teibert who has been there for so long, that that’s not going to be forgotten. Not only are they the defending champions, but they are going to be incredibly motivated because of that result.”

• Starlight Stadium provides big advantage for Pacific: Since they beat the Whitecaps in August of 2021, Pacific has lost just seven of the 29 matches they have played at Starlight Stadium in all competitions. They have already played six matches at home so far this season, and have lost just once, to fellow CanChamp semifinalist Forge FC. Add in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ away record — they have won just once away from BC Place since June of 2022 in all competitions, against York United 4-1 in the Canchamp quarterfinal, plus the sold-out crowd that is expected to be largely wearing purple and the fact that this match will be played in Langford can be considered a significant advantage for the Tridents.

• Which attacking weapons will Pacific deploy?: There are a few different lineup decisions that might keep Merriman up at night until he finally puts pen to paper on the team sheet on Wednesday. Which of his young goalkeepers to start, for example, will be a key decision. But perhaps no position will give him a bigger headache than his front line given the wealth of options at his disposal. Will it be former Whitecaps 2 player Easton Ongaro? Former Whitecap Kekuta Manneh? Pacific Captain Josh Heard? Ayman Sellouf? Djenairo Daniels? David Brazao? Adonijah Reid? The list goes on, but the quality does not drop. “Each player brings something a little bit different, so the decisions are tactical in how we want to set up for this match,” said Merriman. “Sometimes it is not always fair, because some other players deserve time but this is football. This is healthy competition in our team and we have a clear plan going into the match and we will have the players that suit that plan.”

ALL-TIME SERIES

Pacific FC wins: 1 || Vancouver Whitecaps wins: 0 || Draws: 0

Previous match:

August 26, 2021 — Pacific FC 4-3 Vancouver Whitecaps

KEY QUOTES

“We’ve had big matches here against Herediano, home and away, TFC away, Whitecaps here. These are the games that have prepared us for [Wednesday] night, and we need to use those lessons learned.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman

“It is the kind of game we are going to have to be at our best if we want to beat them, because they came out flying against us a couple of years ago and they got the better of us for the full 90 minutes. We know what to expect and we are going to have to make sure that we don’t make the same errors that we made a couple of years ago” — Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ryan Gauld