VANCOUVER 鈥� Defender Bjorn Utvik chose a great time to score his first-ever goal for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Utvik leaped above a crowd to head in a shot in the 90th minute to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 victory over Valour FC to win their Telus Canadian Championship quarterfinal series Wednesday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 special the way that it happened,鈥� said Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen. 鈥淗e was on the front foot all the time.
鈥淗e was all the time in the right position. I鈥檓 very happy for him.鈥�
The Whitecaps, who play in Major League Soccer, were favoured over Valour. But the Canadian Premier League team from Winnipeg pressed Vancouver until the end.
Even though the Whitecaps swarmed the Valour net most of the night, the game鈥檚 three goals came in the final 11 minutes of regulation time.
鈥淭hey did everything they were supposed to do to make it very hard for us,鈥� said Sorensen. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how cup football is. It can be difficult at times.鈥�
Forward Emmanuel Sabbi, a second-half substitute, gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute with a shot from the top of the box. He celebrated by doing backflips. Defender Ranko Veselinovic assisted on the play.
Valour battled back, tying the match in the 86th minute when Jevontae Layne鈥檚 header off a corner kick snuck into the net.
Utvik, playing in his second season with Vancouver, won the match when forward Jayden Nelson looped a shot into the box. Utvik went high into the air and directed it past goaltender Eleias Himaras, bringing a roar from the crowd of 14,536 at 小蓝视频 Place Stadium.
Nelson said the Whitecaps refused to crumble.
鈥淭his group has been together for a very long time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 one of the reasons why we can come back in these games. We know that we鈥檙e able to bounce back.鈥�
Vancouver will face Hamilton's Forge in a two-match semifinal with the opening game in August.
Himaras said that despite the loss, Valour left the pitch feeling good about themselves.
鈥淎s a team, we can鈥檛 be prouder of the commitment and the effort we put in today,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o come here and stay in this game until the last minute . . . we have to carry this into the season moving forward.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a little bit upset, it鈥檚 a tough pill to swallow, but we will continue.鈥�
Valour coach Phil Dos Santos said his player refused to quit.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 ask more for our guys,鈥� said Dos Sanots, a former Whitecaps assistant. 鈥淭he biggest was the passion and focus the guys had in these matches.鈥�
The Whitecaps are seeking their fourth consecutive Canadian Championship.
Vancouver and Valour tied 2-2 back on May 20 in Winnipeg during the opening of the two-match aggregate series.
Earlier Wednesday, Hamilton's Forge defeated CF Montreal 3-2 in another quarter-final match. That left Vancouver the only MLS team left in the competition.
The other semifinal will feature Athletico Ottawa against Vancouver FC in a battle of CPL teams.
The Whitecaps came into the match 2-3-0 in their last five MLS games. Vancouver is second in the MLS Western Conference with a 11-4-5 record and fifth overall in league standings.
Valour (2-8-2) are seventh in the CPL and came into the match with three straight losses.
Valour earned its way into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over semi-professional side TSS Rovers in the preliminary round. As defending champions, the Whitecaps had a bye through the tournament's first round.
UP NEXT:
The Whitecaps head out on the road for MLS games against Colorado Saturday then play in Houston July 16 and San Diego July 19.
Valour hosts York United on Sunday in CPL play.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.
Jim Morris, The Canadian Press
