Frustration lingers for Vancouver Whitecaps following playoff elimination
A bitter taste lingers for the Vancouver Whitecaps as another Major League Soccer season comes to an end.
The 'Caps were ousted from the playoffs Friday by Los Angeles FC when Vancouver dropped the decisive game of the best-of-three first-round playoff series 1-0 in California.
It was the second year in a row Los Angeles eliminated Vancouver in the first round.
“Definitely a bit of frustration," striker Brian White said of the season's end. "You think back on opportunities missed, think about what could have been if you had done better this game, that game.
"It's always going to be that way if you don't win the ultimate prize of the trophy."
The campaign was full of highs and lows for the Whitecaps.
The club started the 5-2-3 in MLS play and worked its way to a third straight Canadian Championship title at the end of September. But a compacted schedule and international call-ups took their toll, and the 'Caps lost their last four games ahead of playoffs.
Vancouver finished eighth in the Western Conference with a 13-13-8 record and faced off against regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, in a wild-card matchup. The 'Caps stunned many with an emphatic 5-0 victory that earned the squad a first-round playoff berth against top-seeded LAFC.
While Los Angeles took a 2-1 victory in the opening game, the Whitecaps won the second match 3-0 before dropping the finale.
Post-season play wasn't a problem this year, but there were stretches during the regular season where the team missed opportunities to climb the table, said head coach Vanni Sartini.
“There's no shame or no problem losing against LAFC 1-0 in their stadium in a playoff game," he said. "The regret is that game should have been at least the conference semifinal, not the first round.”
Analytics show there were areas of growth for the team between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Sartini added, with a higher expected goals rate, fewer goals conceded and improved results from set pieces.
“When you can't shoot for the moon, you have to at least try to do the basics and go for the sky instead of falling down," the coach said. "So that's, I think, a good learning lesson for next year.”
Vancouver was eighth in goal differential (+3) in the Western Conference over the regular season, despite captain Ryan Gauld contributing 10 goals and 15 assists in 30 appearances.
There are a lot of things to improve on as the players turn their attention to next year, said goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.
"For example, the defensive side, we need to reduce the conceded goal. We played really well when the season started. But gradually it went down," he said. "It can’t happen next year. We need to be in good shape the whole year.”
There's work to be done offensively, too, said White, who led the 'Caps with 15 goals.
“I think as a team, we could be more aggressive, putting the game on our terms," he said. "I think going into next season, I think we put the onus on us to kind of dictate more the way the game is going early."
For Sartini, the 49-game stretch across all competitions was particularly demanding.
He started the MLS season suspended for comments he made following the final playoff game of last season — an experience that held some very personal lessons.
Getting back onto the bench required Sartini to go to therapy, something he now says he's grateful for and has continued. He also learned that coaching is a team profession.
“I learned that it's beautiful to realize that you're not indispensable," he said. "That's very important, because sometimes you think you're so important, because you think that everything here goes because you are the leader of everything. And it's not like this.”
Now the club is looking at how to get the most out of the team next season, a process that Sartini — who's under contract for 2025 — said will include evaluating his role as head coach.
The front office will make that decision, Sartini said, but he remains convinced that the Whitecaps have more to give.
“I think that this group is going to be ready to fight for top position next year," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Parole board reverses decision and will allow families of Paul Bernardo's victims to attend upcoming parole hearing in person
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.