Whitecaps use late goal to defeat Valour FC, advance to Canadian Championship semis

Winnipeg Free Press

2 days ago

VANCOUVER – Defender Bjorn Utvik chose an opportune time to score his first-ever goal for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Utvik headed in a shot in the 90th minute to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 victory over Valour FC to win their Telus Canadian Championship quarterfinal series Wednesday night.
The game's three goals came in the final four minutes of regulation time.
Forward Emmanuel Sabbi, a second-half substitute, gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute with a shot from the top of the box. He celebrated by doing backflips. Defender Ranko Veselinovic assisted on the play.
Valour, a Canadian Premier League side from Winnipeg, tied the match in the 86th minute when Jevontae Layne's header off a corner kick snuck into the net.
Utvik, playing in his second season with Vancouver, won the match when forward Jayden Nelson looped a shot into the box. Utvik went high into the air and directed it past goaltender Eleias Himaras, bringing a roar from the crowd of 14,536 at BC Place Stadium.
Vancouver will face Hamilton's Forge in a two-match semifinal with the opening game in August.
The Whitecaps, who play in Major League Soccer, are seeking their fourth consecutive Canadian Championship.
Vancouver and Valour tied 2-2 back on May 20 in Winnipeg during the opening of the two-match aggregate series.
The Whitecaps dominated play most of the game, swarming Valour's net.
Forward Daniel Rios had a good scoring chance in the 10th minute, blasting a shot from distance that just went wide of the Valour net. Forward Brian White, an MLS All-Star returning to the Whitecaps from international duty with the United States at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, let go of a left-footed shot in the 20th minute that just skimmed over the top of the Valour net.
Valour did threaten in the 17th minute when midfielder Raphael Ohin took the ball deep into Vancouver territory, then sent a cross in front of the net. Goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer dove out of his goal to clear the ball.
Rios had another golden chance in the 57 minute, sending a shot just wide of an open corner.
Nelson made a pretty, spinning move in the 60th minute to elude two defenders, but his shot went wide. He had another good shot in the 67th minute which was blocked by Himaras.
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, another MLS All-Star who played for the U.S. at the Gold Cup, tipped a header in the 76th minute that Himaras got a hand on.
Earlier Wednesday Hamilton defeated FC Montreal 3-2 in another quarter-final match. That left Vancouver the only MLS team left in the competition.
The other semifinal will feature Athletico Ottawa against Vancouver FC in a battled of CPL teams.
The Whitecaps came into the match 2-3-0 in their last five MLS games. Vancouver is second in the MLS Western Conference with a 11-4-5 record and fifth overall in league standings.
Valour (2-8-2) are seventh in the CPL and came into the match with three straight losses.
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Valour earned its way into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over semi-professional side TSS Rovers in the preliminary round. As defending champions, the Whitecaps had a bye through the tournament's first round.
UP NEXT:
The Whitecaps head out on the road for MLS games against Colorado Saturday then play in Houston July 16 and San Diego July 19.
Valour hosts York United on Sunday in CPL play.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.