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Rivals Battle At BC Place
By Steve Erickson
photo D. Laird Allan
The two long rivals in the Major League Soccer will do battle in the opening game of title series for 2018 to decide the Canadian CONCACAF championship at BC Place Stadium in game one of the two total goal aggregate series.
Toronto FC were 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Finalists and the six-time Canadian Championship winners defeated the Qualifying Round winners Ottawa Fury FC 4:0 on aggregate in their Semi-Final match-up.
Toronto FC were a game away last falling just short against one of the top clubs in Mexico losing by one goal in the two games series with the best run by an MLS team in the CONCACAF last year.
Toronto took on Ottawa in the semi-final series this year and came out on top 1-0 in first match and concluded the series with a 3-0 win winning it out scoring them 4-0 to advance against the Whitecaps in the finals.
Vancouver advanced to the final after defeating the Montreal Impact FC 2:1 on aggregate in the Semi-Final Round and look to return to Champions League play having previously won the 2015 Canadian Championship.
Vancouver went the tough road as they took on the Montreal Impact and in the first game on the road Vancouver came just short falling 1-0 against the Impact who carried home goal into the second game in Vancouver.
Vancouver played a solid match in the second game coming out on top with a 2-0 win and taking the series winning it on the aggregate based on the result to advance against Toronto in another big test and a chance take the title they won in 2015 back as champions which they did well representing the MLS and the city.
The match-up might see young Canadian Alphonso Davies and Jonathan Osorio go head to head as part of the Canadian Content rules.
Keeping Canada on the map a positive note is that each team is required to field a minimum of three starters who are currently eligible to represent Canada in international play.
Davies and Osorio are two of Canada Soccer's Men's National Team bright young stars as Canada gears up for the CONCACAF Nations League and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ Qualifiers.
Davies recently signed an MLS record transfer to FC Bayern Munich in Germany, and Osorio's performances in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League were a key factor in Toronto FC's historic run.
About the Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship is Canada Soccer's highest domestic professional soccer competition and it is the sole qualification route for Canadian professional clubs into Concacaf Champions League and onto the FIFA Club World Cup.
The current champions are Toronto FC who have won the tournament six times.
Canadian Content is a focus of the content and since 2017 competition regulations state that each team must field a minimum of three Canadian starters for each match.
The Voyageurs Cup has been awarded to the Canadian Championship winner since 2008; created by the Voyageurs Canadian Supporters group, the trophy represents Canadian fans' commitment to the game in our country.
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About Steve Erickson
Sports Broadcaster for Delta TV/Eastlink TV 2015 Delta Chamber of Commerce - Volunteer of Year Inductee 2017 Vancouver Canadians Baseball Broadcast Hall of Fame Play by Play Delta Ice Hawks (PJHL), Surrey Eagles (BCHL), Youtube/Sportswave TV