A valiant playoff run by Vancouver Whitecaps FC fell short in Florida on Saturday, Dec. 6, when they lost the MLS Cup final.
The Whitecaps played the Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami for the 2025 league title at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, 11:30 a.m. start Pacific time.
The home team won 3-1.
The Whitecaps were down 1-0 early on an own goal, but pressed for an equalizer as the first half continued.
Early in the second half, Toronto-raised Canadian national player Ali Ahmed scored to tie the match. The Caps then had all the momentum, coming close again with one ball hitting both posts but bouncing wide of the net.
Against the run of play, Miami’s Rodrigo De Paul scored to give the home team a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes to play. Late in the match, Miami scored another in extra time to win the league championship.
Back in Vancouver, more than 20,000 Whitecaps supporters attended a “watch party” at BC Place Stadium.
Last Saturday (Nov. 29), Whitecaps FC booked a trip to the MLS Cup championship game with a 3-1 win in San Diego. Brian White was the Erdinger Man of the Match with two goals to power the Whitecaps to their first MLS championship appearance.
The MLS Cup was the third match between Whitecaps FC and Inter Miami CF this year after an epic two-leg series in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals. Vancouver won both matches, taking the first leg 2-0 at BC Place, and the second 3-1 at Chase Stadium.
Whitecaps FC sought an eighth men’s league championship in club history, dating back to 1974.