Music: {allcanada} WHITECAPS AND TORONTO FC SET TO BATTLE FOR CANADIAN SUPREMACY

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

{allcanada} WHITECAPS AND TORONTO FC SET TO BATTLE FOR CANADIAN SUPREMACY

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The battle for Canadian club soccer supremacy resumes Wednesday night in Vancouver.

The first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship aggregate final pits MLS rivals Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps against one another at BC Place to determine which club will represent the country in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Toronto FC has won the Voyageurs Cup (presented to the Canadian club champion) in each of the past four seasons and this spring became the first Canadian team in the 50-year history of the North American Club championship to reach the semifinal stage.

But the road back won't be an easy one.

Toronto FC has been dreadful in league play this season, having lost all eight MLS tilts by a combined score of 18-6.

Making matters worse for the Reds is the fact that they will have to start the championship series without their captain, Torsten Frings.

And while the team will receive a boost from the return of striker Danny Koevermans it must also cope without the services of defender Richard Eckersley, who was red-carded in the team's 2-0 win over the Montreal Impact at BMO Field on May 9.

Still, the side was able to grind out a win over Montreal thanks to first-half goals from Reggie Lambe and Ryan Johnson despite losing Eckersley in the 16th minute after a reckless challenge.

The Whitecaps, meanwhile, coasted through the semis. The side overpowered the NASL's Edmonton FC by a 5-1 aggregate scoreline to set up a rematch of last year's final.

Sebastian LeToux was instrumental in the Caps' comeback victory in the second leg of the semifinal, scoring a pair of late goals after coming on in the 70th minute to replace Michael Nanchoff.

The Whitecaps have hit the ground running in their sophomore MLS campaign. The club currently sits fourth in the Western Conference thanks in large part to a 3-1-1 home record.

The team had its three-game MLS winning streak snapped last week at the hands of the New England Revolution, but the team's focus appears to be set on taking the national crown.

The team rested many of its starters in anticipation of the tilt with TFC including Martin Bonjour, Camilo, Jay DeMerit and John Thorrington, with the latter three not even making the trip to Foxborough.

The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in Vancouver in the opening leg of the 2011 final before Toronto won 2-1 at home in the return leg.

The second leg of this year's Championship is scheduled for next Wednesday at BMO Field.

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