Vancouver Whitecaps FC keep making magic in 2025.
As they lead the MLS Western Conference and Supporters' Shield races through seven matchdays, the Canadian side is also authoring a historic run in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
With Tristan Blackmon's extraordinary 93rd-minute equalizer Wednesday night in Mexico City, the Whitecaps advanced past LIGA MX giants Pumas UNAM to set up a mouthwatering semifinal matchup against Inter Miami CF.
"This is high up as a coach... I don't know how high I would rank it, but it's definitely up there," head coach Jesper Sørensen told reporters after the match. "Getting to the semifinal stage in Concacaf is not something that comes along very often.
"And you don't know that when you start out the tournament, of course, you hope you go along. But you're up against tough opponents all the time and also playing under different circumstances."
Giant slayers
Vancouver have stacked back-to-back wins against Mexican powerhouses in the last two rounds, knocking CF Monterrey (Round of 16) and Pumas (quarterfinals) out of the competition.
Since 2008, MLS clubs have beaten LIGA MX opponents on the road in the second leg without winning the first leg outright just three times. The Whitecaps have two of those three wins in 2025.
"I think that we've done it twice, I think it's big, but it's up to others to rank it overall," Sørensen said.
"... As a new coach in MLS, I think it's up to others to really talk about the difference between the Mexican and the MLS teams. I don't really think that we played the game that I thought we could and should. But we hung in there."
With another incredibly difficult matchup against Miami on the docket, Sørensen is still making time to enjoy this victory.
"It's happy emotions. It's always good feelings," he reflected. "These feelings you cannot just produce out of you; you have to go through a lot to get feelings like this.
"Also the way the game ended, it was like the game was a little bit in lock, and then all of a sudden Pumas scored and we had to do something desperate; we did and we scored. I was actually preparing for extra time."
Blackmon's goal, which followed Sebastian Berhalter's acrobatic opener, rewarded the collective effort unfolding across the Whitecaps organization.
"It's amazing being part of something like this," said Sørensen, who was hired in January as Vanni Sartini's replacement. "For me as a new coach, this is unbelievable. But I would say that mostly I'm happy for everybody. I'm happy for everybody because a lot of people have been working hard in this club for many years and getting to this stage in Concacaf is not normal.
"We have to really celebrate and enjoy it."
