The Amway Canadian Championship kicks into high gear on Wednesday with the first leg of semifinals, the round where the MLS teams enter the fray.
FC Edmonton defeated fellow NASL side Ottawa Fury in last month’s preliminary round. Edmonton now hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps, the top seed, in their series opener on Wednesday, while Toronto FC travels to Montreal to face the Impact, who are fresh off their run to the CONCACAF Champions Leagu final.
Here are a few things you should know about both of Wednesday’s games.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC live on Sportsnet World and web streamed on Sportsnet.ca at 7:30 pm ET, and FC Edmonton vs. Vancouver Whitecaps at 10:00 pm ET on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet World. || Sportsnet NOW || Broadcast schedule
What’s at stake
The winner of this tournament will receive the Voyageurs Cup, which was originally funded and awarded by the Voyageurs, a Canadian soccer supporters group founded in 1996. Since 2008, the Canadian Soccer Association has presented the Voyageurs Cup to the tournament champion.
The tournament winner will also qualify for the group stage of the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League.
History of the Voyageurs Cup
The Montreal Impact won every Voyageurs Cup from 2002-2007 when it was awarded to the best Canadian team in the old USL First Division.
A formal tournament was first held in 2008, a year after Toronto FC entered MLS. Montreal won the 2008 Cup to continue its dominance, but TFC won the next four tournaments in a row. The Impact are the reigning two-time champions.
Vancouver has never won the Voyageurs Cup.
The second legs
The return matches in both semifinals take place next Wednesday, May 13 with Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps hosting.
The two-legged final is slated for Aug. 12 and 26.
1-on-1: Edmonton coach Colin Miller
https://twitter.com/SNGerryDobson/status/595680552419782656
Impact, TFC to rest DPs
Paul Dolan’s take
Paul Dolan’s take
Every Friday, Sportsnet.ca will chat with Sportsnet soccer commentator Paul Dolan—a former Canadian national team goalkeeper—about the big stories and issues in Major League Soccer.
As part of Dolan’s latest Q&A, we asked him how seriously he thinks Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver will take this year’s tournament?
“You would have to think more seriously than ever before when they’ve just seen first-hand what possibilities exist with a good run as the Canadian representative in the CONCACAF Champions League,” Dolan said.
“The Impact were 45 minutes away from playing the Bayern Munichs or Barcelonas of the world in a meaningful FIFA competition and you would think that experience and the possible run to a CCL final would be a tremendous incentive financially, as well as developmentally as I’m sure we’ll see some of the squads using younger players in this round.”
Whitecaps turn to backups and 2nd stringers
What’s next
All four teams are in action this coming weekend. Montreal hosts Portland in MLS play, while Vancouver welcomes Philadelphia. Toronto plays its home opener the next day vs. Houston.
Edmonton plays away to the New York Cosmos on Sunday in NASL action.
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