Vancouver Football Club may have wished to wrap up its inaugural season with a victory on home pitch at Willoughby Stadium Friday night – but it wasn’t in the cards.
VFC registered its first-ever franchise win back in April against York, when attacker Shaan Singh Hundal scoring the franchise’s first goal.
Vancouver has since fallen twice to York United in close matches. This too was a close match with VFC push through until the final whistle.
The Langley-based pro soccer expansion team, playing in the Canadian Premier League, broke its three-game winning streak when it fell 2-1 to the Toronto-area York United FC, forward Mikael Cantave scoring the lone goal of the night for VFC.
It turned out to be a big day for Cantave, for multiple reasons.
It was confirmed Friday that Cantave has been called up to the Haitian men’s national team for the Concacaf Nations League group stage matches later this month, and he expressed his appreciation for the call up after Friday’s game.
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Cantave, 26, has represented Haiti in international competition since 2018.
He has earned 12 caps for the country of his father’s birth and scored one goal for Haiti in the 2018 Concacaf Nations League qualification.
Cantave’s most recent call up to the Haitian men’s national team was in 2021 for Concacaf World Cup qualification, where Haiti was eliminated by Canada in the second round of competition.
Haiti will compete in League A of the Concacaf Nations League group stage and face Suriname on Thursday, Oct. 12 at Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadium, Paramaribo, SUR, before playing against Jamaica on Sunday, Oct. 15.
The winner and runner up in the group will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament serves as a qualifier for Concacaf teams participating in the CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024.
Cantave has made 12 starts in 15 appearances for Vancouver FC, since joining the club at the end of June. He came from Cavalry FC.
Described as a “dynamic forward,” he has registered five CPL goals in 2023, including three for VFC, as well as two assists in 1,559 minutes of playe
Previously, Cantave represented Canada in youth competitions including at the 2013 Concacaf U-17 Championship, where the team won a bronze medal, and at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
While he’s off to compete on the world stage again, Cantave took a few moments to reflect on VFC’s first season, and the role as an “older brother” that he feels he’s taken on in the locker room and on the field.
Admittedly, he said, since the team was knocked out of playoff contention last month, there’s been less pressure on the players and he feels they’ve grown and learned a lot together.
The last three wins ahead of Friday’s game, he felt also went a long ways to building the team’s confidence and skills, values he expects they’ll take into training and next year’s play.
Head coach Afshin Ghotbi said he was proud of his team’s efforts and spirit, and while the first two-thirds of their season was “not so good as I expected us to be,” he said changes to the line up, the addition of several mature players, and far more depth and learning by the younger players started turning things around in the later part of the season.
In fact, he called the last 10 games of the season “real impressive,” and is confident it’s building on the foundation of the fledgling team.
“We showed how we want to be,” Ghotbi said, “and what kind of team we’re going to be.”
While he expressed pride in the players, the head coach was quick to also recognize the fans for the role they’ve played in growing the expansion team this year.
“It’s meant a lot to me… I think what the fans do, they inspire people, they give you purpose that gives you a certain anchor that gives you the motivation to work – so you find that your work is meaningful. It gives our players a certain energy to go through even the difficult times,” Ghotbi said.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us in our inaugural campaign,” the team posted on social media after the game.
“A season of highs and lows, but we can’t wait for you to see what we’re building… Soar with us in 2024.”
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