For the fourth time in 2025, the Salish Sea Derby will take centre stage in British Columbia, as Vancouver FC hosts Pacific FC in the 12th-ever installment of this rivalry at Willoughby Community Park on Sunday.
Based on the first three meetings of 2025, it promises to be an exciting match, too, as most clashes between these two teams tend to be. Even though all three 2025 games have finished as draws, each didn’t lack for entertainment, as they battled to a 1-1 draw and a 4-4 draw in league play, as well as a 1-1 draw in the Canadian Championship preliminary round (Vancouver won that one on penalties).
Now, similar drama promises to be in store in this latest meeting, which is exciting when considering that their last meeting was that 4-4 thriller at Starlight Stadium on June 27th, which featured seven second-half goals and four goals after the 75th minute.
Much like was the case on that day, both teams enter this game desperately needing a win, as they look to keep pace in the race for the playoffs, with Pacific sitting nine points behind the fifth and final playoff spot, and Vancouver 13 points back.
While both teams want to avoid losing, even a draw won’t benefit them, so look for both to push hard in the chase of a victory, especially after coming off big league wins this past Monday, which saw Vancouver FC defeat the Halifax Wanderers 2-1 on the road before Pacific claimed a 1-0 win over Cavalry at home.
Certainly, the hosts would love nothing more than another win, as they’re approaching an unwanted milestone. Entering this match, Vancouver haven’t won at Willoughby Community Park since August 11th, 2024, when they beat Pacific 1-0, meaning that they need to win to avoid going a full calendar year without a home win.
Since that Pacific win, they’ve got a record of 0W-5D-8L in 13 games at home across all competitions, as they’ve struggled to turn their home ground into the fortress they want it to be as they look to mount a surprise playoff push.
“It would be big for the group,” Vancouver’s interim head coach, Martin Nash, said of the chance to win at home. “It was a hard-fought battle last week, and nice to get the three points, but if we can not have a dip afterwards, I think that would be big for this group.”
“It's been a bit of a short week for us with all the travel, but we’ve prepared as best we can to face a Pacific side that has a lot of talent.”
As for Pacific, however, they face an opposite conundrum - they haven’t won on the road yet in 2025, with their last road win coming against York United on October 10th, 2024. Since then, they’ve got a record of 0W-2D-6L in the eight road games they’ve played, as they’ve struggled to pick up results away from Starlight Stadium.
With six of their next eight games all coming on the road, they’ll want to change that record, quickly, as they remain the lone team in the CPL yet to win on the road in 2025.
Heading into their shortest away trip, winning in Langley would be a good way for them to break that slump, and they’ll know that, so look for a strong performance.
“Vancouver isn’t too far from us, so it doesn't feel like we're on the road necessarily,” Pacific head coach, James Merriman, said this week. “But yes, it's not our home stadium, we're not in our environment. The travel is not so bad for our group, of course, and that’s positive, but we need to change that stat that we haven’t won on the road, it’s not good enough from us, and we're chasing that.”
In terms of player availability, Vancouver will be without Emrick Fotsing as he continues to recover from a head injury, but they are welcoming back David Norman Jr. from a knock, while new signing Jay Herdman is set to be included in the matchday squad after arriving from Cavalry on loan this week.
Meanwhile, Pacific will be missing Daniel de Pauli due to injury, with Ronan Kratt and Juan Quintana both still out long-term, but new signings Matthew Baldisimo, Ahmad Mansour and Roshawn Juhmi all appear to be available for selection.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- What will the next chapter of Salish Sea Derby offer? While this rivalry might still be quite young, the first 11 meetings between these two teams have certainly been games not to miss. After their recent 4-4 thriller in June, both teams have now combined for 40 goals in those 11 meetings, with 12 of those goals coming after the 75th minute. When these teams play, fireworks tend to follow, and it’s made this one of the most entertaining matchups in the league. Given what’s at stake in this match, that should be expected to continue this weekend, so look for both teams to trade blows, making it unlikely that they combine for their first 0-0 draw in this fixture’s history. At the same time, it’s worth noting that this derby won’t quite be like the others, as for the first time, there will be a new face in one of the dugouts. After the first 11 derbies were contested with the same head coaches on both sides, Vancouver’s interim head coach, Martin Nash, is stepping in for his first derby, which will be fascinating to see play out. The good news? His style of play, which has encouraged his team to press high and play aggressively in attack, should fit nicely in this sort of match. Against a Pacific team also looking to be more ruthless and aggressive in attack themselves, both teams will want to butt heads offensively, making this a game of ‘who scores more’ instead of ‘who concedes less’ - as these matches usually tend to be.
- Can Vancouver flood the box with more numbers? Since his arrival, Nash has had one clear instruction for his Vancouver team - get numbers into the box. They did a great job of that in his debut match, but found just one goal in a 3-1 defeat to Valour FC. In match #2, however, they took a step forward, as they found the net twice in a crucial 2-1 road victory vs. the Halifax Wanderers, so look for them to build on that match. Funnily enough, when comparing the two matches, Vancouver actually got into the box with more regularity against Valour, where they had 11 shots and 26 touches in the box, but generated 1.06 xG and three big chances. By comparison, vs. the Wanderers, despite having just 11 touches and four shots in the box, they generated 1.89 xG and three big chances, as they did a better job of getting to the dangerous areas of the box in their limited visits to that location. Now, the goal in this game will be to get into the box with more regularity, like they did vs. Valour, before making the most of those box entries, the way they did vs. Halifax. They do that, and goals could be the flavour of the day at Willoughby Community Park, which hasn’t always been a frequent occurrence for the home team in the last year, something Nash would love to change.
- Will Pacific build on an important clean sheet? While Pacific will be quite pleased to enter this match coming off a victory over a Cavalry team that has mostly had their number in recent years, the big thing that will stand out from that win is that they kept their first clean sheet since June 1st, a run of seven games. Just their third clean sheet of the season, period, they’d love to add to that total over the next few weeks, especially as they get set to tackle that road-heavy stretch of their schedule. While keeping clean sheets doesn’t guarantee wins, it guarantees points, so it wouldn’t be bad if Pacific were to keep opponents off the board away from home, which could open the door for them to perhaps bust their road slump. This game will be a tough match to keep another clean sheet, seeing how games between these two teams tend to go, but it’d be a strong sign of intent for the Tridents to find a way to make that happen. Certainly, keeping back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since last September would be a massive boost for them at a crucial time, especially if they can package that with a win, one that snaps their road slump and pushes them all that much closer to a playoff spot.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, O'Connor, Enyou; Fry, Norman Jr.; Campbell, Mezquida, Bah; Mbongue
Pacific FC: Melvin; Tugwell, Ndom, Lajeunesse; Chung, Young, Daniels, Mukumbilwa; Bustos, Díaz, Heard
ALL-TIME SERIES
Vancouver FC wins: 6 || Pacific FC wins: 3 || Draws: 2
Last meeting:
June 27, 2025 — Pacific FC 4-4 Vancouver FC
KEY QUOTES
“Derby matches are great. They bring the energy, and you can see how the guys react to it. It was a great trip (to Halifax) last weekend, but we don't want to have a lull after a great performance, so I want to see the same kind of energy, and have a go at them.” – Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash
“Draws don't do much for us right now. I think we can look at the next five weeks as being a pivotal point in our season, between the two (Canadian Championship semi-final) games vs. Atlético Ottawa, and the four league games in that span, that’s going to make or break our season. We're only a few results away from getting right back in the mix and being in the hunt for the playoffs, but we need wins. We know it's a big task ahead of us, and we're up for it and ready to go, starting this weekend.” – Vancouver FC midfielder, David Norman Jr.
“We’re just taking it one match at a time; it's all about who's in front of us. Yeah, it's a derby match, and there's a storyline there after those games that have come and gone this season already. We need to get a win, as we haven't gotten one yet against Vancouver this season.” – Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
“Hopefully, we can collect some momentum, and that can spearhead us into this long road stretch that we have, this tough road stretch. I feel confident that we're at a place now where we can attack more, we feel a bit freer with our football, but we still want to defend a little bit better. We've been unlucky with some results this season, (especially) a couple of them on the road, but hopefully this game here can spur us into a very positive stretch the rest of the way.” – Pacific FC full back Kadin Chung
