Whitecaps beat TFC in first ever MLS game
Posted March 19, 2011 10:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — Eric Hassli made history and Terry Dunfield took his celebration into the stands Saturday as the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Toronto FC 4-2 in their first game in Major League Soccer.
Hassli scored twice, including the Whitecaps’ first MLS goal in the opening half, to bring an explosion of noise from the crowd at a packed Empire Field.
Dunfield, a Vancouver native, broke a 1-1 tie in the 26th minute and celebrated by leaping into the crowd.
Atiba Harris scored during a scramble off a corner kick in the 63rd minute to give Vancouver a 3-1 lead before Hassli made it 4-1 in the 72nd.
Dwayne De Rosario and Maicon Santos had the goals for Toronto FC. De Rosario’s goal was the 8,000th in MLS history.
A cold afternoon couldn’t cool the excitement a the crowd that shook the stadium by stomping their feet on the metal stands.
Winning the first game was great. Beating Toronto just made it sweeter.
Don Garber, the MLS commissioner, was impressed with what he saw.
“We knew it would be big, we knew it would be exciting,” Garber said. “It’s a great day for soccer.
“Canadians love this sport. They certainly love it in Vancouver. I had high expectations. (The Whitecaps) over-delivered. It’s rare that happens in this business.”
Hassli gave the fans what they came to see in the 15th minute.
Speedy Whitecaps winger Davide Chiumiento started the play, breaking down the right flank, then feeding a ball through the box. The big, strong Hassli, Vancouver’s first designated player, collected the pass, then blasted a left-footed shot that beat Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei inside the post.
Hassli was mobbed by his teams and celebrated by kissing the Whitecaps’ logo on his uniform.
Toronto tied the scored about five minutes later. De Rosario flew past Vancouver defender Michael Boxall then lifted a shot past the outstretched hands of Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly.
Dunfield put the Whitecaps ahead 2-1 in the 26th minute, with Chiumiento again the catalyst.
After taking a pretty feed, Dunfield fired a low shot that hit the far corner of the net. The tough-as-nails midfielder ran to the stands and leaped into the crowd, earning himself a yellow card.
Hassli made it 4-1, converting a 2-on-0 break before Santos brought Toronto back to within two in the 74th minute.
The game was the first all-Canadian clash in MLS history and also marked the Whitecaps’ return to the top soccer league in North American since the old North American Soccer League folded in 1984.
Attending the pre-game ceremony was B.C. Premier Christy Clark, NBA star Steve Nash, one of the Whitecaps co-owners who grew up in Victoria, and Garber.
Whitecap supporters held up team scarves while Nash whipped the crowd into a frenzy by pounding a drum and waving his arms in the air.
“I just feel like a super fan,” Nash, a two-time NBA most valuable player, said during a halftime interview. “I have been a Whitecaps fan since I was a little boy.
“To see us back in the top flight in North America is exciting. The atmosphere is great. It makes a really great day.”
Empire Field, the temporary stadium the Whitecaps will call home until $563 million in renovations are completed at B.C. Place, has a soccer configuration of around 21,500. For this game only, an additional 1,500 seats were opened up.
Each fan was given a white poncho to wear to create a ‘Whitecaps Whiteout.’ About 5,000 spectators were given drums to pound.
The crowd tossed hundreds of the ponchos, still in their package, onto the field after each Vancouver goal. That caused a delay in the game and an admonishment from the public address announcer.
The teams are a contrast.
The expansion Whitecaps have Coach Teitur Thordarson heading into his fourth season with the club and at least nine players on the roster who played for Vancouver last year in the United States Soccer Federation Division 2.
Toronto is entering its fifth MLS season, but resembles an expansion team. There is new management, a new coach, new players. Coach Aron Winter hopes to implement a playing style similar to the “Total Football” philosophy used by his former Dutch club Ajax.
TFC has never made the MLS playoffs.
Notes: Missing from the Whitecaps lineup was MF Michael Nanchoff (groin), MF Shea Salinas (knee) and MF John Thorrington (quad strain). … An EA Sports simulation had the Whitecaps winning the game 1-0. … Vancouver first away game is next Saturday in Philadelphia.
