Valor FC faces a tough test against Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship

Valor FC will have the opportunity to test its mettle against a Major League Soccer club for the first time in franchise history on Wednesday night.

Winnipeg’s professional soccer team takes on the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place (9 pm CT) in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championship tournament. The winner advances to the quarterfinals of the 13-team single elimination event and will play either Cavalry FC or FC Edmonton.

“I think we’re all very excited. It’s a huge test,” said Valor midfielder Brett Levis, a former Whitecap who played 24 games between 2016 and 2019. Free Press between flights on Tuesday.

“A lot of our players probably haven’t played at this caliber or this level. Especially for players who are aspiring to get there or to the next level, this is a big test for them.”

Levis isn’t the only one dealing with familiar faces. Valor head coach and general manager Phillip Dos Santos was an assistant with the Whitecaps for two and a half seasons before being fired last August. A month later, Valor fired Rob Gale and hired Dos Santos as his replacement.

“At the end of the day, it’s another football game,” Dos Santos said. “… I know there will be handshakes and reunions at the beginning or throughout the process, but I know how this works. Once the whistle blows, it’s going to be a game that I have to coach and that’s how I’m going to see it.”

Vancouver launched Levis after the 2019 campaign, and the Saskatoon product jumped to the Canadian Premier League, signing with Valor. Are you determined to show the Whitecaps that they made a mistake?

“I haven’t really given it much thought, to be honest. I’m doing it like any game we’ve played so far,” the 29-year-old Levis said.

“My mindset doesn’t really change and I don’t think one game is bigger than the other.”

Valor has never done well in the Canadian Championship. They beat Atlético Ottawa 3-2 in last year’s preliminary round before Forge FC defeated them 2-1 in the quarters. In 2019, Valor was sent home after an embarrassing 4-1 loss to HFX Wanderers FC in their first match of the tournament. The 2020 Canadian Championship was shortened to a one-match final between Forge and Toronto FC due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That matchup was pushed back several times, but Forge and TFC will finally play for the 2020 title on June 4 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

Even though this is Valor’s toughest draw yet, they think they can move on. It wouldn’t be the first time the Whitecaps have lost to a CPL club, as Pacific FC beat the Whitecaps 4-3 in the first round last year.

“Phil told us, ‘We don’t need to be better than that team, we need to be better than that team on that day,'” Levis said.

“It’s a one-legged knockout. So we come prepared with a game plan and if we execute anything can happen. You’ve seen it a lot in the cup (tournaments)… there are a lot of surprises and yes, we’re here to do a work… At the end of the day, it’s 11 other players on the field that we have to play against. They don’t have superpowers.”

Vancouver certainly doesn’t have any superpowers, as they are the worst team in MLS. The Whitecaps sit at the bottom of the league with a 2-1-6 record. Valor is coming off a scoreless draw against the Wanderers on Saturday at IG Field and is 1-2-1 to start his season. For Dos Santos, it doesn’t matter where the Whitecaps sit; Vancouver is the favorite and they have all the pressure on their shoulders.

“At the end of the day, it’s still a bit of David versus Goliath,” Dos Santos said.

“To get something out of that game we’re going to need to be very, very good and that’s the responsibility we have to approach the game with.”

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Twitter: @TaylorAllen31