Heading into this year, Vancouver FC had yet to win a Canadian Championship match.
Now, they sit two games away from reaching the final of the 2025 tournament, as they get set to take on Atlético Ottawa in the semi-finals, with that two-legged affair kicking off at Langley’s Willoughby Community Park on Wednesday.
It won’t be easy for them to win this tie, as Ottawa have gotten the better of them in this fixture over the years, winning six and drawing three of 10 all-time meetings, and currently sit second in the CPL table this year with a record of 11W-6D-1L (28 points ahead of last-place Vancouver), but that won’t bother Vancouver.
Even though getting here was a massive achievement, as they did well to grind past rivals Pacific on penalties in the preliminary round before also beating Cavalry on spot kicks in the quarter-finals, they’re not satisfied with falling short at this stage.
That’s part of the reason they recently made the move to bring in former York United manager, Martin Nash, as an interim head coach for the rest of the season, knowing how important this tie could be for the club.
For a team that has struggled to find their feet in CPL play since their inception, becoming the first CPL team to qualify for the final without earning a bye would be a massive achievement, and that’s not lost on Nash.
“It's massive to have two CPL teams fighting it out for a spot in that final,” Nash told CanPL.ca. “I'm fully aware of how big this match is for the club.”
“We're playing against one of the best teams in this league; they've been fantastic all year, so it’s not going to be easy. We're going to have to be at our best for 180 minutes, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time, and we're going to do our best Wednesday night (in leg one) to defend and be at our best going forward to score goals against them. They flood forward with numbers, and they're good at keeping you pinned in your end, so we'll have to look at how we can get out and how we can attack them.”
No doubt, however, if Vancouver is to grab a win, they’re going to need to rise to the occasion, as they’ve done so far in this tournament.
In particular, their work against Cavalry in the quarter-finals stands out, as they went up against a Cavalry team that they’d never beaten, and grinded out two 1-1 draws in each leg, before winning on penalties.
For a team that has struggled in league play, it’s been a surprise to see, but it shows why this season has been so frustrating for them - they feel that they’re much better than their record of 2W-5D-11L, which has them last in the table with just 11 points through 18 games.
Yet, what’s been nice about the Canadian Championship has been that it’s given them a bit of a fresh start in a competition where their league form doesn’t play a role, and they’ve certainly taken advantage of that opportunity with how good they’ve looked in these games, something they want to keep doing.
“It's funny how this group at times has struggled in the league, but in the Canadian Championship, they’ve grinded out (results),” Nash said.
“It’s brought something out of this group. With cup competitions, you can put the league aside and have a fresh mind to have a go at it. I don't think we have anything to lose, we’ve just got to try to put our best foot forward and have a go at them.”
Now, Nash will look to channel what they’ve done in this tournament, as he himself has a pretty good history with this competition.
As a player, he won the Voyageurs Cup with the Montréal Impact in 2003 (when it was still an unofficial trophy presented to the Canadian team based on matches between the USL Division One sides Montréal, Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto Lynx), while also representing the Vancouver Whitecaps once the Canadian Championship officially launched in 2008, also featuring in the 2009 and 2010 tournaments, which all had just three participants in the Montréal Impact, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Safe to say, when seeing what the tournament has become now, with 15 teams participating in the 2025 edition, he’s proud to see the growth of the competition.
“It's great to see,” Nash said. “Going from the days when it was just three teams with Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto, to what it is now, it's fantastic to see.”
“The game's grown so much in the last 15, 20 years. It's been great to be a part of and great to see.”
Of course, he doesn’t just have memories of this tournament as a player, either - he also helped York United reach the semi-finals of the 2022 Canadian Championship as a coach.
Unfortunately, they came up just short in those semi-finals, falling to the eventual champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps, 2-1 at BC Place, but that run proved to be a bit of a spark for York United, who reached the CPL playoffs in 2023 and 2024, and are hitting new heights in 2025.
Fittingly, York’s Canadian Championship run in 2022 also looked a lot like Vancouver’s in 2025, too, as they progressed past the preliminary round and quarter-finals on penalties, beating Pacific and Atlético Ottawa, respectively.
Because of that, Nash is hoping that this run can vault Vancouver to bigger things forward, much like it did with York, perhaps helping Vancouver find some league success in the years to come.
“That was a fantastic run,” Nash said of York’s run. “It was a little bit the same as this one, we got through two rounds in PKs, beating Pacific and Ottawa to get to the semifinal, and then we had a go at the Whitecaps that day, ultimately we lost 2-1, but we had a go at BC Place.”
“It was a great experience, I think it brought some belief to the group, and it was good for the club going forward; the next year, we got even better as a team and made the playoffs. There’s a lot to play for here, for the club, for this group, and just for the growth of the franchise.”
Of course, the best way to build even more momentum would be to find a way to get past Ottawa, which could set up a date against either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Forge in the final.
From there, with that match being a one-off affair, instead of a two-legged tie, Vancouver could feel within touching distance of the Voyageurs Cup, which would be quite remarkable.
Before they dream that big, however, they need to focus on what’s ahead, and that starts with leg one of this tie vs. Ottawa. Nash knows that, and he’ll look to push his team, as they look to capture more cup magic in a bottle.
To do that, they’ll look to keep building on what they’ve so far started to do under his tutelage, as he’s pushed his team to play more aggressively on both sides of the ball, and they’ll look to bring that energy to this tie.
“It’d be massive to get to a final. I’ve played in quite a few finals as a player, and they're always a massive occasion, they’re so much fun, and on any given day, any team can win, right?” Nash offered. “It’s interesting, as it’s all about who rises to the occasion, and who is maybe a bit nervous at the moment - you just never know (what will happen).”
“This is a great moment for the group, and it'd be huge to get by Ottawa, but that’ll take 180 minutes; that’s a long way away, but we’ve got to start by having a go at them at home.”
