Johnson scores twice as Whitecaps open cup defence with win over Cavalry FC

Levonte Johnson scored twice to assist the Vancouver Whitecaps open defence of their Canadian Championship with a 2-1 win over Cavalry FC within the opening leg of their quarterfinal Tuesday.

Johnson’s first objective was a spectacular strike in first-half damage time. The second got here off a Cavalry error within the 78th minute.

Substitute Malcolm Shaw pulled one again for Cavalry in second-half stoppage time, taking a deft Lucas Dias cross and slipping away from two defenders earlier than poking the ball previous Vancouver ‘keeper Isaac Boehmer.

It was a cold, moist and windy night at ATCO Field at Spring Meadows, with a temperature of 5 C feeling extra like zero. The situations didn’t assist the standard of soccer to start out.

Vancouver’s XG (anticipated targets) was a paltry 0.04 and Cavalry’s 0.06 in a primary half that noticed every staff handle only one shot on course.

The Whitecaps scored on theirs, nonetheless.

Johnson broke the impasse with a second of brilliance in first-half stoppage time. Defender Mathias Laborda took a fast free kick from inside his personal half that was headed away by Callum Montgomery however solely so far as the Vancouver winger, who hammered a swerving left-footed shot in off the goalpost from exterior the Cavalry penalty field.

“A fantastic goal,” stated Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini.

Another lengthy ball from Vancouver defender Bjorn Utvik led to the second objective. Montgomery misplayed the ball, permitting Johnson to take a shot from the sting of the field that beat Marco Carducci.

Sartini stated the primary objective compelled Cavalry to open up within the second half, permitting the Whitecaps to search out and benefit from area.

The return leg is May 21 at B.C. Place Stadium. In the occasion of an mixture tie, the staff with essentially the most away targets wins with a penalty shootout the ultimate decider if wanted.

Sartini lamented conceding the late objective.

“But we’re very happy that we get away from here with a win and we are ahead on the tie and the next game is home,” the Italian added. “There’s a lot of things to take away from here that are positives.”

Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was buoyed by his staff’s extra aggressive second-half efficiency.

“It’s halftime, isn’t it?” he stated of the sequence. “The reality is we’ve got to score two goals at their place and we’ve done that before. So it’s nothing to fear and everything to gain.”

Vancouver is seeking to win the cup for a 3rd straight yr.

CF Montreal drew 1-1 at Forge FC in quarterfinal play earlier Tuesday. On Wednesday, it’s Toronto FC at CS Saint-Laurent and Pacific FC at Atletico Ottawa.

The Cavalry-Whitecaps winner will face both Pacific or Ottawa within the semifinal.

The Whitecaps and Montreal, the 2023 event runner-up, had first-round byes within the 14-team event. Cavalry defeated Vancouver FC 1-0 within the preliminary spherical.

Tuesday’s recreation opened up within the second half and Cavalry made it attention-grabbing within the dying minutes.

Whitecaps wingback Ali Ahmed, who hit the crossbar within the 53rd minute, was a hazard man throughout his 63-minute shift dribbling previous Cavalry defenders at will.

Cavalry defender Fraser Aird needed to go away within the 73rd minute after being greatly surprised by Vancouver substitute Luis Martins, who was booked on the play.

Cavalry and the Whitecaps have historical past.

The Calgary aspect defeated Vancouver 2-1 on mixture within the third qualifying spherical of the 2019 cup competitors, earlier than falling to eventual champion Montreal (3-1 on mixture) within the semifinal.

The Whitecaps avenged that loss by dispatching Cavalry 5-3 in a penalty shootout within the 2022 quarterfinals. Cavalry was on the unsuitable finish of one other penalty shootout within the 2023 preliminary spherical, shedding 5-3 to Pacific FC.

Vancouver, which stands fourth within the MLS Western Conference at 5-3-2, had misplaced simply certainly one of its earlier six video games (3-1-2).

Cavalry, fifth within the CPL standings at 1-1-2, is unbeaten in three video games (1-0-2) since dropping the season opener 2-1 at Forge.

With a recreation at Los Angeles FC looming Saturday, Sartini made eight modifications from the beginning 11 that drew 0-0 with visiting Austin FC within the Whitecaps’ fiftieth anniversary match on the weekend. Only Utvik, Ahmed and Brian White retained their spots with White serving as skipper.

Ryan Gauld, the Whitecaps regular captain, changed White to start out the second half.

Cyprian Kachwele, a Whitecaps 2 ahead who signed a short-term settlement for the sport, and Australian teenager Giuseppe Bovalina got here on for the Whitecaps within the dying minutes.

Vancouver was with out the injured Sam Adekugbe, who grew up in Calgary, and Damir Kreilach.

Cavalry made three modifications with Jesse Daley, Diego Gutierrez and Montgomery coming in for the injured Tom Field and Ali Musse and suspended Shamit Shome.

Cavalry performs on the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday.