Whitecaps down Cavalry FC in penalty kicks in Canadian Championship quarterfinal
Whitecaps down Cavalry FC in penalty kicks in Canadian Championship quarterfinal

The Vancouver Whitecaps answered a late wakeup call and stopped history from repeating itself Wednesday night.
Cristian Gutierrez scored on a penalty kick to give the Major League Soccer Whitecaps a win over Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League in an exciting quarterfinal match of the Canadian Championship at ATCO Field.
The game was tied 1-1 in regulation and Vancouver won 5-3 in penalty kicks.
Gutierrez’s goal came after Vancouver goalkeeper Cody Cropper made a diving save to stop a shot from Cavalry’s Ali Musse.
"In the grand scheme of things we had more chances to score so probably we deserved to win," said Vancouver coach Vanni Sartini. "Cavalry put up a fantastic fight and if they would have won, they would have deserved it."
Mayer Bevan gave Cavalry a 1-0 led in the 72nd minute with a rocket of a shot from distance that went over Cropper's fingertips.
Vancouver's Erik Godoy tied the match in the 85th minute, heading in a corner kick from Deiber Caicedo.
After controlling much of the opening half the Whitecaps struggled in the second.
"We weren’t finding the space and we didn’t create any problems for Calgary until they created the problem scoring that fantastic goal," said Sartini.
"It woke us up. We had chances again and we scored. At the end, in penalties, it could go one way or the other.'
With the scored tied after regulation the game went directly to penalty shots.
"We’re disappointed to lose," said Cavalry coach Thomas Wheeldon. "It’s the lottery of penalty kicks."
The win helped exorcise some ghosts for the Whitecaps.
During the 2019 Canadian Championship, Cavalry upset the Whitecaps with a 2-1 aggregate win, the first victory for a CPL team over an MLS opponent.
Earlier Wednesday, MLS side CF Montreal defeated the CPL’s Forge FC 3-0.
Vancouver's Cavallini, Caicedo, Cristian Dajome and Leonard Owusu also scored on penalty kicks.
Bevan, Jose Escalante and Elliot Simmons scored for Calvary before Musse was stopped.
Cropper joined the team Wednesday morning after coming off COVID-19 protocol. He praised goalkeeper coach Youssef Dahha for helping him prepare for the shootout.
"Statistically speaking, guys go to certain sides," he said. "We were working together to try and go the right way each time. Fortunately, on the fourth one, it went our way."
Vancouver now faces York United FC on June 21 in the championship semifinal.
The Whitecaps showed how seriously they were taking the match with a starting lineup that featured MLS veterans like Cavallini, midfielders Russell Teibert and Ryan Gauld and defenders Erik Godoy and Javain Brown.
The teams were tied 0-0 after the first half despite the Whitecaps holding an advantage of play. The Whitecaps led 9-3 in shots and held a 2-0 advantage in shots on goal.
Cavallini, one of the players being considered for Canada’s World Cup team, had a pair of great scoring chances. Early in the half he headed a pass from Gutierrez that Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci stopped. Later, Cavallini was left open in front of the net but a Cavalry defender was able to get his foot on the shot, sending it over the net.
Late in the opening half Gauld sent a shot just wide of the corner of the net.
Cavalry threatened early in the second half off a corner kick. Daan Klomp took the ball and fired a shot through a maze of players that Cropper grabbed.
In the 69th minute Cavalry's Victor Loturi fired a left-footed shot over top of the Vancouver net.
It was a physical match with both teams dealing out some heavy tackles. Teibert left the match early in the second half have being hit in the face by the ball with just a few minutes left in the opening half.
The Whitecaps lost 2-1 to Charlotte Sunday and currently sit at the bottom of the Major League Soccer Western Conference standings with a 3-7-2 record.
Cavalry came into the game unbeaten in its last four CPL appearances (3-0-1) and sitting second in the league standings with a 3-2-2 record.
NOTES: Teibert was playing in his 11th edition of the Canadian Championship, more than any other player … Vancouver is winless in six road games in MLS … The Whitecaps defeated Valour FC in 2-0 in the Canadian Championship's opening round while Cavalry beat Edmonton FC 2-1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Police find person of interest in deadly shooting at Chicago-area parade
Highland Park's police chief said the 22-year-old man identified as a person of interest in the shooting that killed at least six people, wounded at least 30 and sent hundreds of people fleeing from an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday has been taken into custody.

Former Sask. premier Brad Wall gave strategic advice to key convoy organizer
Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall was in contact with a key organizer of the Freedom Convoy anti-mandate protest, providing strategic advice before and after the Ottawa occupation began, according to court records obtained by CTV News.
Daughter of Toronto Blue Jays coach killed in 'terrible accident' while tubing in U.S.
The 17-year-old daughter of the Toronto Blue Jays' first base coach died in a 'terrible accident' while tubing in the U.S. this weekend.
U.S. man to be charged with kidnapping, rape after Edmonton teen found: Oregon police
A 41-year-old man will be charged with kidnapping and rape after an Edmonton girl who was missing for more than a week was found, Oregon City Police said.
'It's the real deal': Doctors warn about future wave fuelled by Omicron variants
COVID-19 cases are rising again in Canada, with the two fast-spreading Omicron sub-variants known as BA.4 and BA.5 to blame. CTVNews.ca has a guide to what you need to know about the new variants.
NEW | Saanich, B.C. bank shooter was rejected by military, CAF says
One of the twin brothers who was killed in a shootout with police outside a bank in Saanich, B.C., last week had applied to join the Canadian Armed Forces but was rejected, a military spokesperson confirmed Monday.
Canada signs $20B compensation agreement on First Nations child welfare
The federal government says it has signed a $20-billion final settlement agreement to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by chronic underfunding of child welfare.
Canada Soccer makes new compensation offer to its national teams
Canada Soccer says it has made a new compensation offer to its men's and women's national teams.
Canadian airlines, airports top global list of delays over the weekend
Canadian airlines and airports claimed top spots in flight delays over the July long weekend, notching more than nearly any other around the world.