David Norman Jr. knows the value of a cup run.
When he played in Ireland at the end of 2023, he got to experience the magic of such a journey, as his St. Patrick's Athletic side lifted the FAI Cup in front of 43,000 fans at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin that November.
Having navigated an arduous journey through the previous rounds to reach the final, which included an exciting penalty shootout win vs. Derry City in the second round, it made the thrill of beating Bohemians 3-1 in the final feel like a fair reward for months of hard work - certainly, they partied as such.
Now, with Vancouver FC, Norman Jr. will hope that a similar run could be in his future once again. It's far too early to draw comparisons to his St Patrick's side quite yet, but Vancouver will hope they're now at the start of a special journey in the 2025 Canadian Championship, as they defeated rivals Pacific FC 4-2 on penalties (1-1 in regular time) in the preliminary round at Starlight Stadium on Tuesday, with Norman Jr. dispatching the winning penalty.
Their first-ever win in the Canadian Championship, having lost in the preliminary round in both 2023 and 2024, this was a long-time coming for Vancouver, who had to stew on the regrets of those two losses over the past two years.
Now, they can say they've reached the quarter-finals, where a two-legged tie with Cavalry awaits. After being eliminated by that same Cavs side in the 2024 preliminary round, it's a fitting rematch, one in which Vancouver will also get the chance to play their first-ever home cup game after playing their first three on the road.
"Cup runs are important. It can galvanize a squad," Norman Jr. said after the win. "We've got a lot of young players who haven't played professional football, or they've only been doing it for a couple of years, so if we can get ourselves on a good cup run, not only does that do great things for us in this tournament, but it can also kick us on into the league."
"There's something special about playing a cup game at home, too, so to be able to play a home game guaranteed at Willoughby Community Park in the coming weeks will be exciting, for sure."
Yet, this has been building for Vancouver, who entered this match against Pacific coming off what was arguably their three best consecutive performances as a club, as they drew Cavalry and Pacific before beating Valour in their last three CPL matches, just the fourth time they'd ever gone three or more games without losing since they launched in 2023.
Thanks to a newfound defensive identity, one that has seen them remain organized and cohesive without the ball, along with some key additions such as centre back Aidan O'Connor and full back Kunle Dada-Luke, that has played a big role in this latest stretch of play.
A team that has struggled with the defensive side of their game over the past two years, conceding a league-high 50 goals in 2023 and a joint-most 43 goals in 2024, it has been a welcome change to see them concede just three in their last three CPL matches, a number that seems inflated given that they kept Cavalry to 0.59 xG, Pacific to 0.65 xG and Valour to 0.53 xG. Then, for good measure, they kept Pacific to 0.4 xG in this Canadian Championship tie, too.
Before this run, they'd kept opponents to below 0.65 xG just six times in 58 previous CPL games, showing how big this recent stretch has been for them - this is without a doubt the best defensive stretch they've ever had as a team.
"I think that comes with spending more time together on the training pitch with some of our new signings," Norman Jr. explained. "We've had the time to work on things, and we're starting to be able to do it in games, too. You've seen that solidity as a defensive unit, and that goes down to our back four and Callum (Irving), but it's also due to the way we press, it's the way our midfielders like Emrick (Fotsing), Nicolás (Mezquida), Mehdi (Essoussi) hunt balls, as well, that has been brilliant. It's been a team effort to make sure we're keeping the ball out of the back of our net."
Now, thanks to those defensive efforts, it's keeping them in games, which is key. Why, one might ask?
It can almost be forgotten at times, but Vancouver's done well to accumulate some difference-makers up top, including the top all-time CPL goalscorers, Terran Campbell and Alejandro Díaz, along with new signing Nicolás Mezquida, who already has two goals since joining the Eagles last month.
When you've got attackers like that in the fold, you can expect them to decide tight games, making it fitting that Díaz scored the winner vs. Valour last weekend, for example.
Those attackers came up big against Pacific, too, as Díaz stepped up to score a penalty won by Campbell, which was a timely combination to mark Vancouver's first-ever Canadian Championship goal, showing the increased quality and experience in this Vancouver side.
"This has taken a long time to build, to be honest, but I feel that with the addition of some of the players that have come into the team with leadership qualities and a winning mentality, along with the players that have been with us from the beginning, like Callum (Irving), we've seen a tremendous amount of maturity and growth in the group," Vancouver's head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, offered.
"I think those hard times have really helped them understand how joyful it is when you triumph and when you start winning after such hardship. In our last four games, we've been able to put four good performances together, and I think the confidence is just going to keep growing."
Of course, while Vancouver is pleased with this stretch, which is just the second time they've gone four games unbeaten (they had four straight draws to end the 2024 CPL campaign), they want to build on this.
They'll remember that they had a great start to the 2024 season, winning their first two games to leap out to an early lead atop the table, but then quickly faded as they were eliminated from the Canadian Championship and then tumbled down the standings the rest of the way.
After this victory over Pacific, however, this team feels like they're on the right track, and in a position to really build some momentum here. The beauty of a cup run is that it can lift the spirits of a team, and that Vancouver extended their Canadian Championship journey for at least two more games, including one at home, isn't lost on them.
Because of that, they've made sure to enjoy this victory - Ghotbi even offered his side an extra day of rest after their efforts - before refocusing their attention back to CPL play, where they've climbed to fourth place with their recent run after having started with two straight losses, and they hope they're not done climbing up the table quite yet.
"It's massive. I think victory has a contagious side effect, and it brings an enormous amount of positivity," Ghotbi said. "I was in the locker room, and there was water flying everywhere and spraying, as the players were so happy. I gave them an extra day off, just to give them a little bit of encouragement and to enjoy the victory."
"I think because these cup games are life and death, and only the winner goes on, with the loser going away, every time you survive one of these, you only get better and stronger, so I feel that our team is going to grow with this competition."
