Vancouver Whitecaps FC are off to a flying start in their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal series against Inter Miami CF, taking a 2-0 victory in front of a record crowd of 53,837 fans in Thursday's Leg 1 at BC Place.
Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter each found the scoresheet for Vancouver, who also accomplished the vital task of maintaining the clean sheet and denying Inter Miami a road goal ahead of Leg 2 at Chase Stadium on April 30 (8 pm ET | FS1, OneSoccer; TUDN, ViX).
White opened the scoring in the 24th minute, finishing off a gorgeous team move with a floating header past Oscar Ustari, assisted by standout midfielder Pedro Vite. Berhalter found the exclamation point on 85 minutes, smashing a loose ball in the penalty area into the roof of the net off a cross from Jayden Nelson.
The result puts the Whitecaps in the driver's seat as they look to book a spot in the final of the continental tournament, though they still have to protect their 2-0 aggregate advantage in the second leg against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's vaunted attack.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: This was a historic result for Vancouver, snatching a multi-goal lead and shutting out the favored Herons in front of a club-record home crowd. The Western Conference and Supporters' Shield leaders are now just 90 minutes away from reaching the CCC final on June 1 against either LIGA MX's Tigres UANL or Cruz Azul. But as we saw in Leg 2 of this year's CCC quarterfinals, don't count out Messi & Co. at Chase Stadium. In that match, Inter Miami surged back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 on aggregate behind a Messi masterclass performance.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Brian White's opener gave the Whitecaps a perfect start at home, getting yet another goal from one of the most in-form attackers in North America.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Berhalter had one of the best performances of his young career. The 23-year-old midfielder covered every blade of grass on the pitch, and was rewarded with a massive late goal.
Next up
- VAN: Sunday, April 27 at Minnesota United FC | 3 pm ET (MLS Season Pass) | MLS Regular Season
- MIA: Sunday, April 27 vs. FC Dallas | 5 pm ET (MLS Season Pass) | MLS Regular Season
