Vancouver Whitecaps Defeat York United 4-1 to Advance to Canadian Championship Semi-Finals

The Vancouver Whitecaps erupted in the second half, where they scored 4 goals and defeated York United FC 4-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the 2023 Canadian Championship.

The fixture was a rematch of last year's Canadian Championship semi-final, which saw Vancouver edge out York to advance to the finals, where they defeated Toronto FC. 

York did a great job defensively in the early stages of the match and kept their defensive structure, which limited Vancouver's creativity and allowed them to break out on the counter-attack. 

York captain Roger Thompson subbed off in the 25th minute due to an apparent injury. The centre-back has had his fair share of injury issues, but remains an important part of the club when healthy because of what he brings to the backline. 

The Nine Stripes had a few excellent scoring opportunities once they began maintaining more possession and attacking with their link-up play off the wings. Osaze De Rosario received a nice through ball in the 31st minute, but narrowly missed the net. 

It was great effort by York in the first half as they held the MLS side of the scoresheet and went into halftime with a scoreless draw. 

York had Vancouver on their heels in the early moments of the second half as they troubled goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka with their crosses and shots-on-goal, which saw him give up rebounds led to The Nine Stripes receiving corner-kicks. 

Takaoka giving away set-piece plays gave York more life in their attack and boosted their confidence rather than halting their momentum had he taken control of the ball. The Whitecaps had a great opportunity to get on the scoresheet as Becher received the ball in the box and struck a powerful shot but was stopped by Niko Giantsopoulos, who came up with an incredible save to keep the game scoreless. 

Moments later, Vancouver got their goal following the counter-attack as Russell Teibert shot bounced off the crossbar and off the back of York midfielder Elijah Adekugbe, giving the Whitecaps the 1-0 lead. 

Vancouver added another goal in the 75th minute following miscommunication between Giantsopoulos and his backline as he left the box in attempt of breaking up a play but Becher gained control of the ball and lobbedd it into the empty net. 

Despite York's best efforts to get back within one, they didn't have an answer to Vancouver's counter-attack as they scored in the 88th minute to extend their lead to 3-0 and secure the Whitecaps' berth in the semi-finals. 

The Nine Stripes ended up getting on the scoresheet as Austin Ricci scored in the 90th minute off a fantastic strike that beat Takaoka. It would be a short-lived celebration as Vancouver were awarded a pentalty kick shortly after, which saw Julian Gressel step up to the spot and score the game winner and regain the three goal lead for the Whitecaps.

Photo Credit: York United FC (@yorkutdfc - Twitter)