VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC won 5-0 at BC Place for the second time this season, defeating Canadian rivals CF Montréal on Saturday night.Â
Just 24 days ago, the 'Caps also earned an emphatic 5-0 home victory at BC Place, defeating Real C.D. España by the same scoreline in their first match of the 2023 Concacaf Champions League. The Blue & White will now look to carry that momentum into the next round of the Champions League when they host defending MLS Cup champions LAFC in the first leg of the quarterfinals back at BC Place this coming Wednesday, April 5.
The first big chance of the opening half came when midfielder Julian Gressel’s direct free kick attempt struck the post in the 19th minute of the match.
In the 23rd minute striker Simon Becher, who was making his first MLS start, broke in behind centre back Rudy Camacho, forcing him to pull him down at the top of the box, which resulted in a red card.
As the ‘Caps continued the half up by a man, Javain Brown would win the ball back in Montreal's half. His through pass sent Simon Becher on a counter attack, and a quick play inside the box would then connect to Brian White, as the forward opened the scoring in the 38th minute.
The home side continued piling on opportunities. In the 43rd minute, midfielder Ali Ahmed, who was also making his first MLS start, darted into the box and hit a quick pass to Becher inside the box. His sneaky, low shot then doubled his squad’s lead in the 43rd minute of the match. The tally made him the first 'Caps player in the MLS era to score in each of his first four competitive appearances, counting his goal at Real C.D. España in the Concacaf Champions League.
Moments later, a White effort following a counter was saved by Montreal's Jonathan Sirois, but Gressel was there to convert the rebound right before the halftime interval to make it 3-0.
As the second half started, White battled for the ball in Montreal's box before it would find its way to Ahmed, who would then find the back of the net for his first MLS goal in the 48th minute of the match.
It would be a record-breaking night for Becher. In the 59th minute, he would grab a brace with a deft deflection to make it 5-0 in the 59th minute. His fourth MLS goal made him the fastest player ever to reach that mark in MLS history, doing do in only 87 minutes of regular play.
The Blue & White continue their homestand with one of their biggest matches of the season, as they host the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals this Wednesday, April 5 against LAFC. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. PT.
The stretch concludes on Saturday, April 8 with a Cascadia matchup versus Portland Timbers on club's annual Vaisakhi Night at 7:30 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
NOTES
- The five-goal win tied the largest margin of victory for Whitecaps FC in the MLS era. The 'Caps also defeated San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 in the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, and Real C.D. España earlier this season in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League. The only other time the 'Caps scored five goals in the MLS regular season was in 2018 in a 5-2 home win over Orlando City SC.
- Ali Ahmed and Simon Becher both made their first career MLS starts. The duo spent last season with Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) in MLS NEXT Pro.
- Becher is the first player in the Whitecaps FC MLS era to score in his first four competitive matches for the first team. The 2022 MLS SuperDraft pick now has five goals and one assist in his four appearances since last season, including the Concacaf Champions League this year.
- Becher also set an MLS record as the fastest player in MLS history to score his first four goals in the league, doing so in only 87 minutes.
- Ahmed earned both his first career MLS assist and first career MLS goal in his first career MLS start.
- Julian Gressel (1 goal, 4 assists) is tied with Becher (4 goals, 1 assist) for the team lead with five goal contributions in all competitions so far this season.
- Brian White scored his first MLS goal of the season, and his third in all competitions including the Concacaf Champions League.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Players of Quality: Simon Becher, Ali Ahmed
Attendance: 16,046
Referee: Timothy Ford
Scoring Summary38’ – VAN – Brian White (Simon Becher, Javain Brown)
43’ – VAN – Simon Becher (Ali Ahmed, LuÃs Martins)
45’ – VAN – Julian Gressel
48’ – VAN – Ali Ahmed
59’ – VAN – Simon Becher (Javain Brown, Pedro Vite)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 64.4% – MTL 35.6%
Shots: VAN 29 – MTL 3
Shots on Goal: VAN 9 – MTL 0
Saves: VAN 0 – MTL 4
Fouls: VAN 7 – MTL 9
Offsides: VAN 1 – MTL 1
Corners: VAN 6 – MTL 1
Cautions
11’ – MTL – Rudy Camacho
18’ – MTL – Joel Waterman
50’ – VAN – MathÃas Laborda
52’ – MTL – Sean Rea
Ejections
23’ – MTL – Rudy Camacho
Vancouver Whitecaps FC18.Yohei Takaoka; 23.Javain Brown (26.J.C. Ngando 65’), 4.Ranko Veselinović ©, 6.Tristan Blackmon (2.MathÃas Laborda HT), 14.LuÃs Martins; 19.Julian Gressel (31.Russell Teibert 54’), 20.Andrés Cubas (16.Sebastian Berhalter 54’), 22.Ali Ahmed; 45.Pedro Vite, 24.Brian White (7.Déiber Caicedo 65’); 29.Simon Becher
Substitutes not used
1.Thomas Hasal, 11.Cristian Dájome, 25.Ryan Gauld, 27.Ryan Raposo
CF Montréal
40.Jonathan Sirois; 16.Joel Waterman, 4.Rudy Camacho, 3.Kamal Miller (26.Róbert Thorkelsson 55’); 22.Aaron Herrera (15.Zachary Brault-Guillard 54’), 2.Victor Wanyama (19.Nathan Saliba 55’), 6.Samuel Piette © (18.Rida Zouhir 10’), 29.Mathieu Choinière; 13.Mason Toye (25.Gabriele Corbo 27’), 27.Sean Rea, 9.Chinonso Offor
Substitutes not used
1.Logan Ketterer, 5.Ilias Iliadis, 7.Ahmed Hamdi, 30.Romell Quioto
