Final Score: Pacific FC 4-4 Vancouver FC
Goalscorers: Ndom 17', 54', Toualy 76', Irving 90+3' (o.g.); Godbout 55', Norman Jr. 64', Ndiaye 89', Mezquida 90+1'
Game of the 2025 season: 47
CPL Match: 643
Match in a minute or less
Pacific FC and Vancouver FC combined for the first-ever 4-4 match in Canadian Premier League history, as they traded blows in a back-and-forth game that featured seven second-half goals.
After Aly Ndom opened the scoring for Pacific on a corner in the 17th minute, Pacific seemed likely to pick up a victory when Ndom scored again in the 54th minute to put his team up 2-0. From there, however, the game opened up, as Vancouver responded with a goal from Henri Godbout in the 55th minute, before tying the game with a David Norman Jr. free kick in the 64th minute.
Despite that, Pacific did well to regain their lead in the 76th minute through a Yann Toualy goal, but then Vancouver completely turned the game on its head late, as Pathé Ndiaye tied the game in the 89th minute, before Nicolás Mezquida put his team ahead in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
Yet, the game wouldn't be done there, as Pacific found an equalizer in the third minute of stoppage time, as Kadin Chung squeezed in a shot past Vancouver's goalkeeper, Callum Irving, for what was eventually ruled as an Irving own goal, the last marker of this chaotic match, one that keeps Pacific in sixth place and Vancouver in eighth place in the table.
Three Observations
Salish Sea Derby yields more chaos:
It's almost become customary at this point - the Salish Derby is always good for a lot of goals and plenty of late drama.
Once again, that proved to be true in the 11th all-time meeting between these two teams, which yielded one of the best matches in Canadian Premier League history.
Funnily enough, for 55 minutes, this game seemed destined to be quite tame, especially when Pacific took that two-goal lead. Only the third time they scored two in a game this year, that seemed to suggest a victory was imminent, given that they'd won both of those matches.
Yet, that wouldn't have felt fitting for this occasion, so perhaps it seemed like a warning sign that this game was going to descend into chaos when Vancouver made sure that Pacific's two-goal lead lasted all of one minute, showing that they weren't going to just let Pacific cruise to an easy Friday night victory with the country watching.
Given that both teams have combined for just three clean sheets in their previous 10 matches, with none of those matches yet to yield a 0-0 scoreline, goals are always the flavour of the day when these two teams meet.
Plus, interestingly, there are always a lot of late goals, too, usually of the important variety. Of the 32 goals they'd both scored vs. each other heading into this game, eight of them had been scored after the 75th minute, with four of those goals being late winners.
Because of that, it shouldn't be surprising to see the game finish as it did, although no one would have expected it to go supernova.
Now, after that late outburst, they're up to 40 goals in 11 all-time meetings, an average of over 3.5 a game, and have now scored 12 of those goals after the 75th minute, which represents 30% of the goals scored between these two teams.
That's not bad at all, as derby matches can often yield cagey games that can be hard on the eye, with both teams usually unwilling to open themselves up for embarrassment by their rivals, but these two teams have no problem opening things up and creating a slugfest.
Having entered this game as two of the lowest-scoring teams in the CPL this year, with Pacific on eight goals and Vancouver on nine, this will have felt unexpected, but a good reminder of what these derby matches can do for these two teams - now, the goal will be to bring this energy to other matches, given that each had entered this game with just one point in their last six matches, something they'll hope this draw can help change.
Certainly, for a couple of hours, both showed a wider audience what they can do on their day, which could perhaps spark a run of good form going forward.
Photo Credit: Sheldon Mack/Pacific FC
Pacific happy with four-goal outburst but rue game management:
As mentioned in the last section, not only did Pacific enter this game with just one point in their last six CPL games, but they'd also scored just once across that span, coming on an Aly Ndom rocket in a 3-1 loss to York United earlier this month.
Safe to say, this outburst had been coming, however, as they entered this game having underperformed their xG by over three goals. They haven't been as dangerous offensively as they'd have hoped, as their xG figure is still bottom three in the CPL, but that showed that they still weren't firing as well as they should've given the circumstances.
Yet, that's why a four-goal outburst like this will feel so important for them, as it's been a while since the goals have flowed in this manner. In fact, the last time they scored three in a game came last fall, when they had back-to-back 3-0 wins vs the Halifax Wanderers and Vancouver FC in September, while the last time they scored four came in a 4-1 win vs. York United in September of 2023.
For Pacific, a lot of their struggles have been confidence-related, as they'll have good flashes in games, but have been unable to turn those good flashes into consistent stretches of play, especially across 90 minutes. All of a sudden, being able to enter a game and score four could do a world of good for their players, as it'll serve as a reminder of what they can do when it all clicks for them.
Plus, it's important to note that this outburst came without the help of any penalties, too, with two goals coming from set-pieces and the other two in open play - that's huge, as Pacific will want to be more dangerous in both of those areas going forward. That goes without saying, of course, with those being two of the best ways to score goals, but for a Pacific team that hadn't done much of either, it still bears repeating.
On the flipside, for all of the positives that will come out of Pacific's goalscoring outburst, they still have plenty to tidy up from this game. In particular, that they relinquished two leads will hurt, especially the 2-0 lead they held, given that it had usually been a reliable scoreline for Pacific to protect.
Yet, that's a good reminder for Pacific that while they've been focused on finding their offence, they still need to manage games. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you score four goals if you don't get a victory, especially when seeing how important a victory would've been for this team, given their recent slump.
For what it's worth, Pacific did also show good mental strength to still claw out a point from this game, as they did seem almost destined to drop all three points when Vancouver went up 4-3, so the learning lessons aren't all bad from this game.
Now, the goal will be to put together everything on a regular basis going forward - that ability to score in bunches, to defend their leads and to be resilient in the moments when they trail. They do all of that, and this draw could prove to be a good building block for them.
Photo Credit: Sheldon Mack/Pacific FC
Vancouver offers glimpse of new attacking future:
Of course, Pacific wasn't the only team looking to use this game for a bit of a confidence-boost offensively, as Vancouver themselves had also picked up just one point from their last six games, although they'd scored three goals across that stretch compared to Pacific's one.
Like Pacific, too, they felt that wasn't a fair reflection of what they were capable of doing offensively, too, as they'd underperformed their xG by around a goal.
Because of that, they'll be pleased to score four goals, just the second time they've done that in club history (they scored four in a 4-1 win vs. Valour in April of 2024), as it comes at a pretty ideal time for them.
At the moment, they're uncertain about the future of striker Alejandro Díaz, whose loan to the club expires on June 30th. Having missed Vancouver's last game as he dealt with a personal matter, that game offered a glimpse of what life could look like without him, and that didn't look great given that Vancouver didn't score in a 1-0 loss to the Halifax Wanderers.
In this game, however, the second straight that Díaz missed, Vancouver showed that they could be in a position to replace him going forward with internal options.
That's encouraging, as they've been very dependent on Díaz to score goals in the past 18 months, which is understandable given his pedigree, but made it worrying to imagine what the future could hold for Vancouver if he weren't to return.
All of a sudden, Vancouver's got options stepping up in attack, as Ndiaye scored his second goal of the season, Mezquida found his team-leading third, and Godbout opened his account after a flurry of positive performances off the bench to begin 2025. Between those three, and the all-time CPL leading scorer, Terran Campbell, that should be a group that still has plenty of goals in them, and this game showed that.
Along with the play of Thierno Bah, who continues to be a bright offensive spot as a full back and wing back (and chipped in with an assist in this game), and what Kunle Dada-Luke can bring from the other full back position, without mentioning the play of Vasco Fry and Emrick Fotsing in midfield, Vancouver has guys who can be dangerous in attack.
Where they've struggled is putting all of that together at once on the pitch, which shows why this performance will be so key for them.
It might take more of a collective effort in the attack going forward, instead of depending on one name, but perhaps that's what Vancouver could use more of in the months to come.
Now, much like Pacific, the goal will be to also find a balance - not every game can be 4-4, naturally - as they've often struggled to find the right formula where they can be dangerous offensively and still be tidy defensively at the same time.
For example, in this game, it should've been game over when they went up 4-3, and they handed Pacific a lifeline, something they'll want to avoid in the future.
What they'll hope to get out of this game, however, is that they can potentially still be in a position to score goals in the future, no matter what ends up happening with Díaz, and that helps them take one step closer to finding that tactical balance they so badly crave.
Photo Credit: Sheldon Mack/Pacific FC
What They Said
"I don't know (why these games are crazy), but that makes it a derby - regardless of what position either team is in at the moment, when that game comes in a season, it's always a beautiful part of football when derby matches can look like today. For the fans, for the neutrals, for both sides, that part is exciting." -- Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
"I've been in some crazy matches, and this ranks right up there. I think if we had played five more minutes, there would have been two more goals. But what's very exciting is the fact that you had TSN coverage of this match, as it's a wonderful showing for the league, for the game and for both teams. Just the fighting spirit that both teams showed, how many times the game turned around from one team to the other, I'm really happy for the game, and I'm happy for the fans. I'm also a little bit disappointed deep inside, because I think we had the victory in our hands and we let it slip away, but I'm very proud of the performance, effort and the spirit that we showed tonight." -- Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Aly Ndom, Pacific FC
While it'll be frustrating for him as a defender that his team conceded four goals, Ndom was a force at the back for Pacific in this game, on both sides of the ball. Not only did he nab two goals, but he also completed 34 out of 37 passes (92%), including six out of seven long balls, and also had one block, 10 clearances, one interception, two recoveries and won four out of five duels in a commanding performance.
All of Aly Ndom's actions from this game (OPTA)
What’s next?
Pacific will get a bit of a break until their next game, as they travel to Nova Scotia to take on the Halifax Wanderers at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, July 12th (3 p.m. PT/7 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, Vancouver will be back in action next weekend, as they take on Forge at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday, July 5th (2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET).
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