Just under 10 years ago, Vancouver Whitecaps FC won their first-ever USL First Division championship, defeating Rochester Rhinos 3-0 on September 30, 2006 in upstate New York after knocking off Miami FC and Montreal Impact in the first two rounds as a fourth seed.
It’s a run that will forever be etched in the club’s history books as it was the club's first men's championship in 15 years.
The group featured a number of homegrown players including captain Jeff Clarke (Coquitlam), fullbacks Geordie Lyall (Victoria) and Steve Kindel (Burnaby), midfielders Martin Nash (Victoria), Dave Morris (Burnaby), and Alfredo Valente (Burnaby), as well as striker Jason Jordan (Richmond). In addition to the locals, there was Ontario native Adrian Cann, Cuba-Canadian Eduardo Sebrango, Americans Jay Alberts, Tony Donatelli, Joey Gjertsen, Steve Klein, and David Testo, as well as starting keeper Tony Caig from England.
The 2006 season will always be remembered as a special year for the club. In addition to the success found with the men's team, the Women's side won the W-League championship with a roster that featured the likes of Canadian women’s national team stars Christine Sinclair, Desiree Scott and Sophie Schmidt, completing an unprecedented double of USL titles.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, 10 members of Vancouver’s 2006 championship winning men’s team will walk out with the ‘Caps on Friday night before they host San Jose Earthquakes in an important Western Conference affair at BC Place (8 p.m. PT on TSN1 – limited tickets still available). The women’s team will be honoured following the 2016 Rio Olympics.
2006 Whitecaps FC men’s roster (bolded players attending on Friday).
Jay Alberts
Gary Brooks
Tony Caig
Adrian Cann
Jeff Clarke
Tino Cucca
Srdjan Djekanovic
Tony Donateli
Joey Gjertsen
John Jones
Jason Jordan
Diaz Kambere
Steve Kindel
Steve Klein
Stefan Leslie
Geordie Lyall
Sita-Taty Matondo
Dave Morris
Martin Nash
Anthony Noreiga
Eduardo Sebrango
Ryan Suarez
David Testo
Alfredo Valente
Josh Wicks
Corey Woolfolk
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket, and single match tickets. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
