The Voyageurs Cup tournament has been a thorn in the side of Vancouver Whitecaps supporters for eleven years now. Eleven times the Cup has been contested, and eleven times the club has found a way to lose. In 2011, Vancouver was less than 20 minutes from victory when torrential rain and lightning in Toronto forced an abandonment, wiping out the Whitecaps’ away goal and necessitating a replay, which they would lose. In 2012, the Whitecaps managed to lose to “the worst team in the world,” as Toronto forward Danny Koevermans called his TFC squad after they’d set an MLS futility record to start a season. But the one that will be on the minds of long-time fans of the Whitecaps will be the 2009 tournament, when the Whitecaps all but won their first championship, only to have it snatched away on the final day of the tournament in a game they weren’t even involved in. The Montreal Impact, who were already eliminated from that 2009 tournament, played a reserve side in the final game and were routed 6-1, handing the championship to Toronto on goal differential. Though not one player remains from that 2009 tournament, thousands of fans remember. Beating then-division 2 Montreal in the first round wasn’t enough. The fans want revenge, and they want it tonight.

Vancouver comes into this game nearly as healthy as it has been all year. Forward Kenny Miller, out several games with a hamstring injury, should be eligible for selection, as should Daigo Kobayashi who sprained his ankle a few weeks ago against Los Angeles. Jay Demerit is the only serious injury remaining, and Johnny Leveron and Andy O’Brien have shown themselves more than up to the challenge of filling in for the injured skipper. They also enter the game well-rested, having not played since a 2-2 draw against Portland on May 18th. Montreal, on the other hand, played on Saturday, a 5-3 win over Philadelphia, and has to save something for their trip to Kansas City this coming Saturday. Vancouver has been making all the right noises about coming out guns blazing, playing attacking football and taking the match to Montreal. Goals are a must, and Philly demonstrated on Saturday that the Impact back four is vulnerable.

Montreal have had an impressive start to the season. With a league record of 7-2-2, they sit currently in second place in the Eastern Conference. Their 1.81 goals per game is tops in the league. Factor in their 6-0 drubbing of Toronto in the 1st round of the Voyageurs Cup and you see that the Impact offence is not to be trifled with. Their road record, however, is not as bright and shiny. The Impact rattled off wins in Seattle and Portland to start the year, but have not won since, and have managed only a goal per game away from Stade Saputo. While they’ve played well on the west coast this year (they also drew 2-2 in San Jose), coming into BC Place where the Whitecaps are undefeated this year will not be an easy task. There’s also the matter of Montreal’s shooting percentages. Montreal is significantly above 2012 averages in shots on goal percentage (the percentage of shot attempts that are put on target), shooting percentage (the number of shots on goal that find the back of the net) and save percentage. The Whitecaps, on the other hand, are a little below average in both shooting and save percentage. Those numbers all tend to regress to the average over time. The percentages say that the Impact are not as good as their record indicates and the Whitecaps are not as bad as their record indicates. Hopefully that regression will manifest itself tonight so the fans can go home happy.

Let’s be clear: if there is a defining game for the Vancouver Whitecaps this season, this is likely it. At this point in the season, Vancouver could play very well in the remaining two thirds of their games and still miss the playoffs. The first leg of the final finished 0-0. That makes this a win-or-die affair for the Caps, as any draw would go to Montreal on away goals. As Ben Massey over at Maple Leaf Forever pointed out, the influx of allocation money from Major League Soccer will allow Martin Rennie to go out and significantly upgrade an already decent team. It will also stamp Vancouver’s ticket to the CONCACAF Champions League, giving Vancouverites the opportunity to see the Caps compete against Central American teams. There is more on the line in this one game than in any other game Vancouver is likely to play in 2013. There is also a burning hatred for the Impact in the hearts of the long-time Caps faithful.

In their eleven years of futility, Vancouver has never had a Voyageurs Cup-deciding game at home. Throw everything at them, Mr. Rennie, and win a trophy.