VANCOUVER, BC – The Vancouver Whitecaps are 90 minutes away from making history and lifting the club’s first competitive trophy of their MLS era.
It’s not that silverware has completely eluded Vancouver these past five years. The Whitecaps have owned the Cascadia Cup the last two seasons and look odds-on favorites to lift an unprecedented third straight trophy come September. But one trophy – a national championship – that has continued to escape them is the Voyageurs Cup.
Five Canadian Championship runners-up spots in the last six seasons may have left the Whitecaps feeling slightly snakebitten in the competition, but with two away goals after a 2-2 first leg draw, the ‘Caps know they have the ideal set up to get the job done when they meet the Montreal Impact at BC Place on Wednesday (10pm ET; Sportsnet One in Canada, MLS LIVE in US).
"It's a great opportunity for us to get that piece of silverware that we want," Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson told reporters at training on Monday. "We haven't won it before and I keep getting reminded. And it irks me. I keep saying that. It does wind me up.
"Two years ago we had a chance to do it and we lost to Montreal. We've got to be very careful of Montreal. They're a very good team, but we're at home."
Success on Wednesday would give Robinson his first trophy as a manager, having lifted the Voyageurs Cup as a player with Toronto in 2009. For many in his young roster, a win would give them their first taste of silverware at the professional level, which was a key squad target heading into this season.
"It's a big game for us," center back Kendall Waston stated. "It would be the first trophy for the club in this couple of years and that is what we're going to battle for. We want to give our all in the game. It's a final. We have to give everything.
"This year, before we started the season, we talked about how we have to start to create a winning atmosphere [at the club]. This is the first opportunity, so hopefully we can win it."
Waston is one of the squad that has previously enjoyed cup success, winning the inaugural Costa Rican Cup with Deportivo Saprissa in 2013. It’s an experience he wants to enjoy again with his new club and one that he hopes will be the first of many during his time in Vancouver.
That desire is shared by his central defensive partner Pa Modou Kah and the veteran feels this is the perfect time for this Whitecaps squad to write their name into the record books.
"We want to make history," Kah told reporters. "We’ve never won it. For us, it’s our time right now. I feel it’s about time that we win it because with the group we have [here], we’re not waiting for a year or two, we want to win it right now. For this organization, it would mean a lot. We’re still fighting for four trophies and this is the first one."
