It's a huge few weeks for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC League1 BC women's team, and next on the list is to defend their League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship.
They will first face Calgary Blizzard in the semifinals this coming Friday, August 9 at 5:30 p.m. PT (live on OneSoccer) at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.
How they got here?
The 'Caps qualified as 2024 League1 BC regular season champions, playing the first undefeated season in League1 BC history (10W-0L-2D).
They are also defending national champions in this competition, having won the 2023 League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship when it was hosted at Willoughby Community Park in Langley, BC.
Who else is in the tournament?
As mentioned, the 'Caps will face Calgary Blizzard in the semifinals - the first ever entrant from League1 Alberta. There are some connections, as Whitecaps FC head coach Katie Collar is from Calgary and has faced Blizzard head coach Diogo Raposo on several occasions. Whitecaps FC striker Kaylee Hunter, another Calgary native, also spent time with the Blizzard.
In the other semifinal, League1 Ontario champions NDC Ontario will face Ligue1 Québec champions CS Mont-Royal Outremont.
NDC Ontario, like the Whitecaps FC program, is a Canada Soccer National Developmet Centre (NDC), home to some of the best young talents in the country. They had a dominant 15W-2L-1D record to finish as regular season champions and qualify for this tournament.
CS Mont-Royal Outremont finished with a 8W-3L-5D record in the Ligue1 Québec regular season, then pulled off two upsets in the playoffs. First they defeated AS Blainville 5-2 in the semifinals, then beat the favoured CF Montréal Academy 2-1 in the final.
What's next?
The third place match and final will be played this coming Sunday, August 11 back at Tim Hortons Field.
- Third-place match: 9 a.m. PT
- Championship Final: 12 p.m. PT
Following Sunday's match, Whitecaps FC will travel to El Salvador for their Preliminary Round match against Alianza Women FC in the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup this coming Thursday, August 15 at 5 p.m. PT. They qualified as Canada's representative for that tournament by winning the 2023 League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship.
