(Vancouver) The Vancouver Whitecaps have been crowned Canadian champions for the third time in a row after defeating Toronto FC on penalties in the final on Wednesday.
Defender Bjorn Utvik scored the decisive goal in the shootout, firing a shot from the left side in the fifth wave of shooters.
Toronto FC was more dominant for most of the game, but goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer made a series of key saves, including one on a Federico Bernardeschi penalty in the 38th minute.e minute.
The Whitecaps booked their place in the final after beating Canadian Premier League side Pacific FC 2-0 in the semi-finals.
The Vancouver team lifted the Voyageurs Cup for the fourth time in its history and secured a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.
Bernardeschi gave the Whitecaps a hard time from the first minute of play. Around the 30th minutee second, the Italian unleashed a powerful shot that Boehmer had to push away.
At 21e minute, Boehmer did his thing again to stop the attempt of Canadian defender Richie Laryea.
The Whitecaps recovered and, in the 34th minute,e minute, they had a golden opportunity to open the scoring. Brian White and Fafa Picault came together in the penalty area and White was brought to the ground, but no penalty was awarded.
In return, a few minutes later, Toronto FC earned a penalty when Whitecaps defender Mathias Laborda brought down Laryea near the goal line. Bernardeschi was however stopped.
Toronto FC thought they had the first goal on their feet in the 53rd minute.e minute, but Boehmer challenged Laryea and the latter did not thread the needle.
With neither team able to score during regular time, the match went to a penalty shootout, where the Whitecaps triumphed.