COMMERCE CITY, CO – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 gave a valiant effort but fell 3-2 against Colorado Rapids 2 in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs on Sunday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, bringing their 2025 campaign to an end.
WFC2 got off to a bright start, pressuring Rapids 2 and building up well with neat passes in between the lines.
The young 'Caps would get the first chance of the match through Jackson Castro, who got on the end of a loose ball at the top of the box but saw his powerful volley bounce just wide of the Colorado goal.
Moments later, it was Rapids 2 who found the go-ahead goal as Anthony García's right-footed attempt from distance found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The thrilling start to the match continued as Cyprian Kachwele had the next big chance of the match, with his looping header coming off the crossbar and out, narrowly giving WFC2 an instant response.
The 'Caps pressure would pay off in the 14th minute. Antoine Coupland whipped a cross into the box that was flicked along by Kachwele. The ball found its way to the feet of Mark O'Neill, who turned inside the box and rolled a shot past Colorado goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo for his eighth goal of the season, tying the match at 1-1.
Colorado continued to sit back and invite WFC2 forward. The next chance of the match fell to the 'Caps off of a long throw-in from Nikola Djordjevic. The fullback's throw found O'Neill, who headed the ball towards goal and was impressively denied by Campagnolo from close range. The rebound then fell to Nelson Pierre right in the goal mouth but the first team forward's attempt were somehow parried away off the line by Campagnolo to keep the match level.
Both sides would go into the break level, but Rapids 2 gained the lead right after the halftime interval, as Billo Diop took advantage of a loose ball in the box and slid a shot into the net. However, the goal was chalked off due to offside on the play, keeping WFC2 in the match.
Diop continued to cause problems as he got in behind the WFC2 backline a couple minutes later, but was unable to capitalize as his shot went high and over the bar.
The young 'Caps then got back on the offensive, with Adrián Pelayo forcing Campagnolo into a fine save off a free kick in the 60th minute.
Unfortunately, Colorado took the lead 12 minutes later as Alex Harris' low shot from outside the box found the bottom corner for the 2-1 advantage.
WFC2 had a great chance to equalize moments later as Johnny Selemani whipped a cross into the box for Coupland, but his headed effort drifted just wide of the far post.
Colorado would add a third through Sam Bassett in the 86th minute.
The match wouldn't end there as O'Neill once again caused problems for Colorado's backline and thumped a half-volley into the back of the net to give the young 'Caps some life late in the contest.
WFC2 then earned a free kick deep in Rapids 2 territory that was taken quick by Castro. He found Coupland inside the box and the Canadian winger whipped a trivela-esque shot off the post, almost finding the late equalizer for the 'Caps.
In the end, Whitecaps FC 2 fought and pushed but came up just short, putting an end to their 2025 MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: John Matto
Scoring Summary
7’ – COL – Anthony García (Alex Harris)
14’ – VAN – Mark O'Neill (Cyprian Kachwele, Antoine Coupland)
72’ – COL – Alex Harris (James Cameron)
86’ – COL – Sam Bassett (Josh Copeland)
90’ – VAN – Mark O'Neill (Jackson Castro)
Statistics
Possession: COL 57.9% - VAN 42.1%
Shots: COL 9 - VAN 16
Shots on Goal: COL 5 - VAN 5
Saves: COL 3 - VAN 2
Fouls: COL 19 - VAN 9
Offsides: COL 1 - VAN 1
Corners: COL 3 - VAN 6
Cautions
17’ – VAN – Jackson Castro
19’ – COL – Sam Bassett
44’ – VAN – Johnny Selemani
60’ – COL – Dauoda Amadou
82’ – VAN – Adrián Pelayo
90+3’ – COL – Alex Harris
Colorado Rapids 2
51.Zack Campagnolo; 53.Stevie Flores (67.Andre Erickson 87'), 54.Vincent Rinaldi, 37.Charlie Harper, 36.Anderson Rosa; 45.Daouda Amadou (80.Noah Strellnauer 79'), 18.Sam Bassett (48.Matthew Senanou 87'), 16.Alex Harris; 35.James Cameron (42.Josh Copeland 79'), 40.Billo Diop, 49.Anthony García (47.Sydney Wathuta 64')
Substitutes not used
71.Kendall Starks, 56.Jaden Chan Tack, 57.Rogelio Garcia, 58.Landon Strohmeyer
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
50.Max Anchor; 41.Nikola Djordjevic, Mark O’Neill ©, 48.Adrián Pelayo, 46.Deylen Vellios (68.Yuma Tsuji 87'), 54.Daniel Russo (64.Mateo Clark 87'); 55.Cyprian Kachwele (63.Johnny Selemani 34'), 97.Liam Mackenzie, 44.Jackson Castro, 43.Antoine Coupland; 42.Nelson Pierre
Substitutes not used
80.Isaac Francoeur, 66.Sahil Deo, 71.Carson Rassak