Vancouver Whitecaps FC couldn’t have dreamt up a better start to their new era under Jesper Sørensen.
As fans carried out a display saying “Here we are and here we’ll stay” ahead of their home opener, the worries of a team actively for sale subsided, albeit briefly, as they beat the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy 2-1 for their third win in eight days.
Sam Adekugbe scored three minutes in, and Brian White scored the 87th-minute winner, as the upstart Whitecaps built on a 4–1 win over the 10-man Portland Timbers and midweek Concacaf Champions Cup victory against Costa Rica’s Saprissa.
In every respect, 2025 is a massive year for the club, and there are few ways it could be starting better on the pitch. The home opener win was their first since 2018, and they haven’t had two marks to start a season since that same year.
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“Everyone has bought into the new philosophy, the game plan, a little bit of a change of pace,” White said, scoring the winner after a brace against Saprissa. “Everyone feels energized, and I think you’re seeing a good product on the field.”
But how good could things get… could the Whitecaps dare dream of an MLS Cup this early?
Sørensen’s Whitecaps unlike any other era
Fast starts are a relatively foreign concept for Vancouver. While they’ve had some successful MLS seasons, many have peaked in the summer months before eventually dipping down the stretch and ending in disappointment in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Yet, there’s never been a time when they’ve played as they have under Sørensen.
Under their last three coaches, Vanni Sartini, Marc dos Santos and Carl Robinson, the Whitecaps often surrendered possession and opted to hit on the counter-attack. In 2025, they’re holding onto the ball and linking together patient plays through key players.
Against Saprissa, they put together a goal after a 17-pass sequence. Against LA, they won the possession battle to rely on strong crossing play from Jayden Nelson and Pedro Vite, setting up White and other attackers in the box.
“First and foremost, I came in and inherited a team that was well-structured and in good shape,” Sørensen said.
“I would say that the team has looked great. They’ve done well in pre-season. Everybody has chipped in and been ready for the new ideas I brought in. I can only be happy with what I’ve seen so far and hope it’s only the beginning.”
Still led by the key partnership of White and Scottish international Ryan Gauld, the 2025 Whitecaps have also adopted a mix of defensive systems, quickly shifting from zonal marking to man marking to neutralize skilled attacking threats on both Portland and LA.
