Latest news with #Caps
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vancouver Whitecaps ink midfielder Pedro Vite to extension through 2029
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed midfielder Pedro Vite to a long-term extension. The club announced the deal Friday, saying the deal stretches through the 2029 campaign. Vite has 15 goals and 20 assists in 136 appearances with the 'Caps, including five goals and a team-leading six assists across all competitions this year. The 23-year-old has also made eight appearances for Ecuador's men's national team and helped the squad qualify for the 2026 World Cup earlier this month. Vite first joined the Whitecaps in October 2021 from Ecuadorian first division side Independiente Del Valle. Vancouver sporting director Axel Schuster says in a release that Vite has since shown 'exceptional dedication to his development and that hard work has transformed him into one of the best young playmakers in Major League Soccer.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Recently, he's also emerged as a key figure for Ecuador's national team, playing an important role in their qualification for next year's World Cup,' Schuster said. 'Pedro's success is a credit to his talent and determination, and we're excited to continue supporting him as he strives to reach his full potential.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Whitecaps' all-star hype also an Axel Schuster story
Four Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS All-Star Game is a statement about team success and is yet another declaration about a soccer boss who's had a clear vision and is delivering. Wednesday's news that goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka, centre-back Tristan Blackmon, central midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and forward Brian White are all headed to the MLS's big show is a statement about how strong the Caps' season has been. They've drawn all kinds of notice around the league — and with the fans. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. That's outstanding. It's a great thing for a club that needs good things to happen to them. It's also a great thing for the Caps' CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster, the architect of all of this. As someone said to me Wednesday: 'Definitely give Axel his flowers.' Blackmon, Berhalter and White were all acquired inside eight months by Schuster. White was the first, in June 2021, originally brought in as cover for Lucas Cavallini, but obviously Schuster saw a player who could grow into more — the same with Berhalter, acquired on the eve of the 2022 season. Berhalter, the son of a famed American soccer power couple, had tremendous pedigree and Vancouver has proved a fine finishing school for him as he's become a true engine in the midfield. And then there's Blackmon, as strong a positive character as you'll find in any team's dressing room. All three have proven to be the ultimate Schuster-style player; the kind of player this squad is now filled with, guys who have fantastic reserves of energy and also have remarkable smarts for the game. It shouldn't be remarkable that a sporting director can find players like this, but when you go through the years of Whitecaps managers, you see a lot of misfires. But since being handed the reins of the Caps in late 2019, Schuster has made few missteps, especially over the past two seasons. Takaoka has proven to be a brilliant signing and, in being picked by Austin FC boss Nico Estevez to be one of his MLS all-star 'keepers, is an affirmation of the judgment Schuster showed in bringing in Takaoka, who bucks the goalie trend by not being a towering giant. Look at the rest of the key players on this roster, from Ryan Gauld down through the likes of Jayden Nelson, Pedro Vite and Edier Ocampo: Player after player has proven not just to be a quality footballer, but also a quality character as well. Too often over the past decade-plus has this team signed players who were good footballers but not good characters. Vancouver is fighting hard. Sure Wednesday's 5-3 loss to San Diego was rather concerning, given the Caps have been defensive dynamos all season, no matter who has been in the lineup, and they definitely weren't in that match. But soon White and Berhalter and Nelson will be back — Ali Ahmed, too, though he's out six weeks with an ankle problem — and hopefully one day Gauld as well. Four all-stars, you have to think Schuster believes, are just the beginning of something big here. And for all the talk about Vite being an international transfer target this summer … how much longer will Schuster's work go unnoticed by bigger, richer clubs? That's just an idle thought from a local columnist, but I can't be alone, can I? pjohnston@
Vancouver Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Whitecaps have never faced San Diego before — and yet they're familiar
In a season where matches have come fast and furious for the Vancouver Whitecaps, having time off has been a luxury. They've made a habit of playing at top intensity, of rolling their squad in and out, no matter who or where they've been playing. Playing against teams you know little about and then defeating them has been the story of the season. And so facing down a team on Wednesday, San Diego FC, who they've never faced before, feels like old-hat. Except, of course, San Diego is a new squad, playing their first season in MLS, and they're sitting second in the Western Conference. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The funny thing here: Caps head coach Jesper Sorensen still feels like he knows these guys well. In their march to the Champions Cup final, the Caps didn't exactly face a bunch of minnows — Saprissa, Monterrey, Pumas, Inter Miami and Cruz Azul are all well-known opponents. It's just that they've known that San Diego would be an opponent since the day the league schedule came out. There's been no prepping on the fly here. 'This is a team we've been able to follow since the start of the season,' he noted. For the Champions Cup opponents, the Caps had just a couple weeks to prepare, whereas Wednesday's league match marks the opening of the second half of the season. They played 25 games over the first three-plus months of the season, a highly demanding pace. And, of course, at the end of that was a brutal stomach virus that Vancouver picked up after their ugly 5-0 loss in the Cup final. They ran out a skeleton lineup to defeat Seattle 3-0, then ran out of gas a week later in Columbus, losing 2-1. They needed to recover mentally, physically and, really, medically. 'We needed just to reset our minds, our bodies, and now we're back at it,' Ranko Veselinovic said with a grin, looking back at the multi-week gastrointestinal mess he and his mates went through. But everyone is all in the clear. Literally. In the days that followed the outbreak, the team barely trained. That they so soundly defeated the Sounders was a testament to the structure this squad has built to date. They know how to play at their best even when they're wounded. 'We're all a little mellow-headed,' forward Emmanuel Sabbi said, flashing his customary smile. 'And … we know where we are, and we're trying to just perform every day and show that we are the best.' Sorensen has taken the squad that Vanni Sartini built into a solid unit and added a level of intensity he and his charges know must remain if they're going to sustain this push for the Supporters' Shield through the summer and into the fall. 'I think it was very good that everybody got a break,' Sorensen said, then quipped: 'Maybe they're also tired of listening to me.' STILL NO GAULD: Sorensen said Ryan Gauld's recovery from a knee capsule issue remains slow. 'Nothing meaningful,' Sorensen said when asked if there was an update on Gauld's progress. pjohnston@
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Vancouver Whitecaps, expansion side San Diego FC to battle for top of the West
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps were the team to watch through the first half of the Major League Soccer season, earning gutsy, offensively dominant victories against some of the continent's top teams. And the 'Caps (10-2-5) know their journey is far from over as the second half of the campaign begins Wednesday. 'It's been amazing, the first part of the season,' said veteran defender Ranko Veselinovic. 'We know we did a good job, but also we know that that's passed. Now we cannot look at that any more. That's done. 'New games are coming, and only the next game is the most important, so we need to keep going. Because if you don't continue like in the first part, no one's going to care about the first part of the season.' Outside expectations for the Whitecaps are higher heading into the second half of the season, said head coach Jesper Sorensen, but the team remains realistic and focused. 'What I think this team needs to do going forward is we need to be even more disciplined in how we want to play,' he said. 'If we want success, we have to be very clean in how we want to play the game, how we want to approach the game, and the style of play. We just have to continue work getting there.' Vancouver's next matchup will be a crucial one. The Whitecaps head into Wednesday's home game against expansion side San Diego FC (10-5-3) sitting atop the Western Conference standings — but San Diego could steal that mantle with a win. 'Big game for us. We want to stay there in the first spot, fight for the supporters shield,' Veselinovic said. 'So we need a good performance on Wednesday. They're a really good team.' Anders Dreyer has been key to San Diego's early success. The 27-year-old Danish midfielder has eight goals and a league-leading nine assists in 18 games this season. 'We know he has a good left foot, he likes to come inside and play the switches that can hurt the teams,' Veselinovic said. 'He's really good player, but we faced already this season pretty good players on a lot of teams, and we know how to handle them. We don't focus just on one player, we need to focus on all their team because they can hurt you from many aspects.' While the MLS international break has come to an end, the Whitecaps will still be without some of their top talent for Wednesday's matchup. The team's leading scorer, Brian White, is still playing for the United States in the Gold Cup alongside 'Caps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter. Canadian midfielder Jayden Nelson is taking part in the same tournament, while teammate Ali Ahmed was sent back to Vancouver on Tuesday for further evaluation of the ankle injury he suffered in Canada's 1-1 draw with Curaçao on Saturday. The absences could be an opportunity for Emmanuel Sabbi. The 27-year-old forward joined the Whitecaps in February from French side Le Havre AC and has two goals and two assists in 12 MLS games. But Sabbi feels his personal performance 'could be better, definitely.' He knows this week is an opportunity to show he deserves a permanent spot in Vancouver's starting 11. 'Every player wants to be a starter, and I just need to show more what I can do,' Sabbi said. 'It's just day by day, day by day in training.' While everyone is vying for minutes, the sense of unity among the Whitecaps' players overrides each player's individual goals, he added. 'I feel like this is the first team I've been on where everyone seems at the same level mentally,' he said. 'And of course, we all have our personal goals, but we never let that affect the team's effort, and all of us go 100 for each other. It's very unique.' SAN DIEGO FC (10-5-3) AT VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (10-2-5) Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Wednesday, B.C. Place LAST TIME OUT: Both teams are coming off a week-and-a-half long international break. San Diego's last game was a 4-2 road win over Minnesota United on June 14. Vancouver played the same day, falling 2-1 to Columbus Crew for their first away loss of the season. DEEP OFFENCE: Seventeen players have scored for Vancouver across all competitions this season, while 15 have assists. SUMMER ROAD TRIP: Following Wednesday's game, the 'Caps play their next five league games on the road. The club is schedule to play just two matches at B.C. Place next month — a Canadian Championship quarterfinal against Canadian Premier League side Valour FC on July 9, and a regular-season fixture against Sporting Kansas City on July 26. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Reinforcements coming as recovering Vancouver Whitecaps hit the road
Tristan Blackmon's pre-game meal included some unusual sides on Sunday — pickle juice, caffeine pills and Red Bull. After battling a gastrointestinal illness that took out about half of the Vancouver Whitecaps squad earlier in the week, the veteran defender was ready to ingest whatever it took to get his energy levels back before a matchup with his team's regional rivals, the Seattle Sounders. The additions worked. Blackmon was a force as the 'Caps (10-1-5) blanked the Sounders 3-0. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It was weird circumstances. I didn't train all week. I trained the day before the game because I wasn't feeling that great,' Blackmon said of the lead up. 'But I just told the staff that I wanted to be there and help the guys out as much as I could. 'Definitely got a little winded towards the end of the game, but happy we got the result.' The result extended Vancouver's club-record unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer play to 11 games (6-0-5). The 'Caps will look to stretch the mark further on Saturday when they visit the Columbus Crew (7-3-7). Players and staff continued to recover this week, but the team was able to train more this week, said head coach Jesper Sorensen. 'We can see in training sessions, (players) have more energy now, and they get a little better every day,' he said. 'We can see it in the faces and the eyes … I think that everybody looks a little bit better than they did a week ago. And, yeah, they couldn't look any worse anyway, so it could only go one direction.' Vancouver announced Thursday that it will be without defender Sam Adekugbe for the rest of the season after he tore his Achilles tendon while playing for Canada on Tuesday. The club will also miss four players to international duty come Sunday. Forward Jayden Nelson and midfielder Ali Ahmed are with Canada as the team prepares for its Gold Cup opener against Honduras in Vancouver on Tuesday. Striker Brian White and midfielder Sebastian Berhalter are with the U.S. team for the same tournament. The Whitecaps will get four players back from international duty, though. Midfielder Pedro Vite is back after helping Ecuador secure a spot in next summer's World Cup, while defensive midfielder Andres Cubas and Paraguay inched closer to the same goal. Defender Giuseppe Bovalina (Australia U-23) and Tate Johnson (U.S. U-20) have also returned. The Whitecaps weren't far from Johnson's mind when he was with his national team in Egypt. Despite the distance, he still made a point of watching Sunday's game. 'It was at 4 a.m. where I was, so I work up at 4 and watched it and then went back to bed for a little bit,' he said. 'It was awesome to be able to get a win. … So I was trying to be quiet in my room. But I was excited.' All four returnees will figure into Saturday's game, Sorensen said. 'I think they come back with a lot of positive energy and it's always good for the group,' he said. 'We also saw last week that we also have players who really can step up when need be. So I think that it's good we have a lot of competition.' In Ohio, Vancouver will meet a Columbus side looking to rebound from a 5-1 loss to Inter Miami last weekend. The result stretched the Crew's winless skid to six games (0-2-4). The Whitecaps aren't taking the opponent lightly, though. 'Another tough game away against a really good team that likes keep the ball a lot, have dangerous players,' Blackmon said of the matchup. 'So we're going to go there with the guys we have _ we don't have everybody available, people are gone for international break. But we're confident in the guys we have.' VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (10-1-5) AT COLUMBUS CREW (7-3-7) Field, Saturday HISTORY BOOKS: The Whitecaps hold a 5-3-3 edge in all-time meetings with the Crew, and have gone 4-2-0 in previous appearances at Field. The club's last trip to Ohio didn't end well, though, with Columbus blanking the 'Caps 4-0 back on Feb. 22, 2022. LEAGUE LEADERS: Not only does Vancouver sit atop the MLS standings, the club is also No. 1 in points per game (2.19), goal differential (+18) and expected goals (36.99) TERRIFIC TANDEM: Whitecaps defenders Blackmon and Ranko Veselinovic are set to make their 100th start together for Vancouver across all competitions. Their first start together came in Columbus back in February 2022.
