Ryan Raposo was named the Best Young Canadian for his performances in the tournament last year after making four appearances and scoring once. Two of the Whitecaps were raised in the Toronto area and are looking forward to welcoming family and friends for the first time as professionals. We're not going to have as much of the ball as we normally would in our league games," he said, adding that the match is a "massive" test for his club and a chance for players to prove themselves. "We would like to play our game but it's going to be difficult. Nash said his players can't expect to have many chances to test Vancouver's goal and will need to capitalize when they do. We've had some good performances but we just have to turn those performances into wins." "They're a team that's coming in that's in a good moment but our guys have to be positive.
"Both teams have changed personnel wise a fair bit," said Nash about the change from last year's fixture. The Whitecaps played York in the semifinals last year, winning 2-1, and are led by former longtime Whitecap and ex-captain Martin Nash. Vancouver has a mixed record in the competition having won it once in 2015 and finished runners-up seven times - as both a Major League Soccer Club and in its previous iteration pre-MLS. "When we attack, we have to be really structured because we don't have to give them the possibility of quick counterattacks." It's not a flashy team, but it's very organized," he said. Sartini, who got a tattoo of the trophy after winning it last season, said he wants his team to ensure they respect York's ability. We want to be there again … we have the moral imperative to try to do the repeat." "Everyone remembers with fondness, I would say, the magic of the night last year when we won the Cup.
"It's fundamental," he said about success in the tournament.
The Voyageurs Cup was also head coach Vanni Sartini's first piece of silverware and he believes the tournament is important to the club as a whole. Vancouver won the tournament last season, beating Toronto FC 5-3 on penalties with Andres Cubas bagging the winning spot kick. VANCOUVER - The message from the Vancouver Whitecaps is clear: success in the Canadian Championship is crucial to the club and its fans this season.
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