After progressing from the semifinal round with a 3-2 aggregate victory over FC Edmonton, the ‘Caps travelled East for the first leg of the Final at Stade Saputo.
The first 45 minutes saw the two teams go into the halftime interval deadlocked at 0-0.
However, in the 65th minute, Whitecaps FC Homegrown midfielder Kianz Froese received the ball on the left wing and dribbled past a couple Montréal defenders. The Canadian then squared a cross into striker Darren Mattocks, who calmly tucked the ball into the back of the net to give the ‘Caps the 1-0 advantage.
Just seven minutes later, the Blue and White doubled their lead thanks to a stunning free kick strike from attacking midfielder Pedro Morales that whipped past Montréal goalkeeper Eric Kronberg at the near post.
Montréal would grab a pair of goals late through defender Laurent Ciman and forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel to even the tie at 2-2 heading into the second leg at BC Place, with the ‘Caps holding the narrow tiebreaker on away goals.
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