Vancouver Whitecaps didn’t just punch their ticket to the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs. They did it with one of the most lopsided wins you’ll see all season, a 7-0 demolition of the Philadelphia Union in front of more than 26,000 at BC Place.
That result locked in a playoff spot with six matches still left on the schedule, the earliest clinch in club history, and it also meant a third consecutive postseason appearance, something the Canadian side had never managed before.
A match that showed exactly where Vancouver stands
The final score doesn’t really capture how early the game got away from Philadelphia. From the opening whistle, Vancouver dictated the pace. In the 18th minute, Laborda rose above the defense to head home a perfect corner from Berhalter. Moments later, Ali Ahmed tore down the left, left two defenders behind, and squared it for Sabbi to make it 2-0. On his 36th birthday, Müller stepped up to the spot at the half-hour mark and calmly buried the penalty for the third. And before halftime, Ahmed was taken down in the box again, giving Müller another chance from twelve yards. He didn’t miss, and the Whitecaps walked off at the break already four goals clear.
The Union thought they had a lifeline when Bedoya connected with Uhre, but the flag went up and VAR confirmed the offside.
The second half? Same story. Müller turned creator this time, sliding a ball to Sabbi who smashed home the fifth. Elloumi, making his home debut, headed in the sixth from a Berhalter cross. And in the dying minutes, Müller capped it all with his hat trick, completing the 7-0 rout. For the record, it was the first time Vancouver had scored four goals in the opening half of an MLS match. Pure intensity, pure efficiency.
A team rising on and off the pitch
The numbers back it all up. Vancouver now sits on 52 points, just one shy of the club record set back in 2015, with six games still to play. They already have 16 wins, only one short of their best-ever season tally. Their goal differential sits at +23, the highest in the league right now. Offensively, they’ve hit 54 goals and are only one away from matching last year’s total.
And the buzz isn’t just on the field. For the first time since joining MLS, the Whitecaps drew more than 26,000 fans in three straight home games. That connection between the team and the stands feels stronger than ever.