Vancouver Whitecaps FC Dominate Forge FC 4–0 to Keep Canadian Championship Four-Peat Dreams Alive

MEGAN SWAIN/ GATG

The Vancouver Whitecaps are headed back to the Canadian Championship Final after a dominant 4–0 victory over Forge FC at BC Place on Tuesday night, sealing a 6–2 aggregate win and keeping their dream of a historic four-peat alive.

Coming off a 7–0 thrashing of MLS leaders Philadelphia Union just 72 hours earlier, there were questions about whether Vancouver could maintain that ruthless form. It took just seven minutes to answer. Off a Sebastian Berhalter corner, Tristan Blackmon soared highest to nod home his fifth goal of the season, handing the Whitecaps an early lead and control of the tie.

Forge never recovered. In the 29th minute, J.C. Ngando doubled the advantage with a strike that ricocheted in off the post after being set up by Ali Ahmed, putting the home side in complete command. By halftime, BC Place was rocking, and the visitors looked overwhelmed.

“We know they have nothing to lose," Berhalter said postgame. "So we just came out there and tried to play our game and not worry about what they're doing, just focus on us. And it worked well.”

Four minutes into the second half, Forge’s slim hopes were extinguished when Marko Jevremovic pulled down Belal Halbouni inside the box. Berhalter coolly converted the penalty for his sixth goal across all competitions, stretching the score to 3–0. The final dagger came in the 85th minute, when Ryan Elloumi, recording his first first-team assist, slipped a pass across the box for Jayden Nelson to tap home his third of the year.

Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis pointed to costly lapses as the difference. You give up a goal early on a set piece. That's a small detail… Then we get that sucker punch in the 48th minute that makes this game difficult against what is a very good team.”

The only sour note for the Whitecaps came in the 82nd minute when Blackmon, in the best form of his career, went down with a knee injury and had to be helped off without putting weight on the leg. Head coach Jesper Sørensen admitted it will take “a couple of days” to assess the severity.

The win extends Vancouver’s streak to 11 unanswered goals over their last two matches and puts them one victory away from matching Toronto FC’s record of four consecutive Canadian Championship titles (2009–2012). For Thomas Müller, it will be his first chance at silverware in a Whitecaps shirt. For the club, it’s the chance to etch their names into Canadian soccer history.

Next up, Vancouver visits Sporting Kansas City in MLS play on Saturday, September 20. But the real prize looms on October 1, when BC Place hosts the Canadian Championship Final against either Atlético Ottawa or Vancouver FC.