The Vancouver Whitecaps head into the biggest match of their MLS era with a rare shot at reaching the Western Conference final, and Saturday’s setting couldn’t be more fitting, with more than 53,000 fans expected to fill BC Place and push the team against a rival that’s become a constant obstacle, LAFC. After a solid win over FC Dallas in the first round, with a 3–0 victory in the opener, Ralph Priso’s stoppage-time equalizer in the second match and a penalty shootout triumph, the atmosphere in Vancouver mixes confidence with caution, since the opponent knocked them out in the last two seasons.
The weight of history and the balance of 2025
The Whitecaps reached 24 different goal scorers across all competitions this year, an unusual feat that shows how spread out their production is. The season also marks Jesper Sørensen’s first year in charge, during what’s already considered the best campaign in the club’s MLS history. The matchup with LAFC, however, comes wrapped in a familiar backdrop. Since April 2023, the two sides have met 14 times. LAFC won eight, drew three and lost three, holding the edge in goal difference and carrying a run that includes playoff eliminations in 2023 and 2024, along with Vancouver’s exit in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League.
Even so, 2025 brought a shift. Vancouver won the regular-season series against LAFC for the first time, drawing 2–2 at BC Place in May and earning a 1–0 win at BMO Stadium in June. Over the last three years, the Canadian side has beaten LAFC at home only once, which happened to be the 3–0 victory in Game 2 of last season’s first-round playoffs.
The weapons on each side and what could decide it
Saturday’s matchup brings together the two most consistent teams in the West across nearly every metric. Vancouver scored 66 goals in the regular season, leading the conference and ranking third in MLS, while LAFC sits right behind with 65. Both teams are also among the league’s best in xGA and xGD, numbers that show how well they defend and how rarely they give up dangerous looks.
In the attack, LAFC leans on Denis Bouanga, the West’s top scorer with 24 goals and the league leader in shots, along with the immediate impact of Son Heung-min, who posted 10 goals and four assists since August, including direct contributions in the first-round playoff matches. The Whitecaps bank on the return of Brian White, who has 16 goals, and the steady form of Berhalter, Müller, Sabbi, Ahmed and Laborda, who kept the team’s production rolling throughout the year.