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Morning update

White lifts Vancouver past Monterrey, MLS up & down in CONCACAF, midweek games abroad, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta kicks off your Thursday with his thoughts on a lot of the top news stories, including Vancouver's big win over Monterrey in Mexico.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
March 13, 2025
8:00 AM

THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP is raging on with a few surprises along the way and the midweek saw news from European competitions. In addition, there has been some transfer news with the MLS window still open.

Anyway, let’s get into it.

 

Vancouver shockingly eliminates Monterrey

 

It’s not exactly an irregular occurrence when MLS teams defeat Liga MX teams anymore, but Vancouver’s victory over Monterrey is shocking for many reasons. First, the result from the first leg in Canada was 1-1 and this meant that Vancouver needed to go to Mexico and either win or get a draw of at least 2-2 or higher (1-1 would force extra-time and a shootout). Second, Vancouver is without two of its top players in Jayden Nelson and Ryan Gauld.

Even with the game moved outside of Monterrey and over to Torreon, the advantage was still heavily in Monterrey’s favor. Especially with Monterrey having signed legendary Spanish defender Sergio Ramos recently.

Vancouver seemed to have long odds to advance, and even longer after Monterrey scored first in the 4th minute. But in the 57th minute, it was Édier Ocampo who equalized for Vancouver.



The big moment, however, came in the 78th minute when Brian White, fresh off his USMNT Nations League callup, found what turned out to be the winning goal for Vancouver. For White, it was his 75th first team goal for either the New York Red Bulls and the Vancouver Whitecaps.



That goal gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead but also a huge away goal advantage. That meant that Monterrey would need to score twice to win. They managed to equalize on a gift of a penalty call that Ramos converted. But Vancouver ended up prevailing with a stunning win against heavy odds in Mexico.

There are few takeaways. The first is that White continues to be an excellent striker that has done it for such a long time now. With the USMNT having many forwards who are injured, White deserved his call-up and has a huge opportunity. But his continued success also highlights that when the Red Bulls traded him for $400,000 in GAM, it is shaping up to be one of the worst trades in league history.

Another takeaway is that new head coach Jesper Sørensen is having a very, very impressive start. Given the injuries his team has faced, the Caps have a perfect nine points from three games in MLS play and have now advanced into the quarterfinal of CONCACAF with wins over Saprissa and Monterrey. No one could have predicted that.

 


 

Elsewhere in the CONCACAF Champions Cup

 

The first two Round of 16 matchups with MLS teams taking on Liga MX teams were disappointing but not surprising from the perspective of MLS. Cruz Azul defeated the Seattle Sounders 4-1 and Tigres defeated FC Cincinnati 3-1. For both Cincy and Seattle, their chances of advancing were greatly diminished after both teams failed to take advantage of big opportunities to win the home legs.

Cincinnati scored first away against Tigres but conceded three times in eight minutes during a second half meltdown.

Winning at home is so critical for MLS teams against Liga MX sides. That is what makes what Vancouver did (and Columbus last year twice) so remarkable. But Seattle and Cincinnati had the ability to have a much better showing than they did given the individual quality both teams have.

The Galaxy rebounded from a 1-0 away loss to Herediano in Costa Rica with a 4-1 win on Wednesday night at home. This wasn’t terribly surprising given that the Galaxy controlled the first leg but was let down by finishing. The big takeaway is that it was a sign of life from the Galaxy which lost its first three games in MLS and has looked listless given the injuries to Joseph Paintsil and Riqui Puig.

The other leg involving MLS teams saw LAFC get past Columbus despite a 2-1 loss in the second leg. The dominant 3-0 win from the first leg was enough, but Columbus made it close and is impressing this season after losing a significant amount of talent over the past year.

On Thursday night, Inter Miami will head to Jamaica to try and finish off their series against Cavalier after a 2-0 first leg. That would set them up with a matchup against LAFC.  

Finally, Club America pounded Chivas 4-0 Wednesday to advance despite losing the first leg 1-0. Alex Zendejas responded with a big outing just a day after he was left off the USMNT roster for March.

 

 

Holmes to Houston

 

Long-time Championship stalwart Duane Holmes, 30, has finally left England and will now play his trade in the country of his birth with the Houston Dynamo. Holmes is a versatile player who can add a lot of feistiness and grit to his team – which is badly needed by Houston.

His arrival opens question marks about when Holmes will be healthy after he broke his leg earlier this year. It also raises questions whether U.S. U-20 midfielder Brooklyn Raines is in the team’s plans as much as anticipated. But Holmes is an experienced player who has thrived in the Championship for over a decade (which he used to earn two USMNT caps). It’s a smart signing for the Dynamo to help stabilize the club after a rocky start.

Houston has struggled to start this season with just a point from three games and a -4 goal differential.

 

Midweek European games

 

The midweek games abroad from Tuesday and Wednesday were in the Championship and the Champions League.

The Champions League games saw few surprises. After a 7-1 loss in the first leg, PSV was simply playing out the stretch in the second leg against Arsenal in London. PSV faired better in a 2-2 draw, but the intensity was considerably lower given the result was never in doubt. Richard Ledezma was decent in a full 90 in the second leg while Sergino Dest did not get off the bench as his return from ACL will be closely managed.

Borussia Dortmund advanced past Lille following a 2-1 away win in the second leg following a 1-1 draw in the first leg. It was an impressive comeback for BVB but Gio Reyna only played the final five minutes to see out the win – which sets up a quarterfinal matchup against Barcelona. Reyna doesn’t have a big role with BVB right now, but he is the last American standing in this tournament.

In the Europa League on Thursday, Tanner Tessmann and Lyon host FCSB after taking a 3-1 win from the first leg away in Romania. In the Conference League, Leon Flach and Jagiellonia Bialystok visit Belgium after carrying a 3-0 away win at home last week in Poland.

 

Full midweek slate in the Championship

 

In the Championship, Aidan Morris had a good game for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers. Morris played the full 90 and had an assist (although it was a simple pass that was finished perfectly). Middlesbrough has won three of four and is within three points of the playoff positions. Morris is starting to find his rhythm again after the injury he picked up with the USMNT in November.

Daryl Dike did not get off the bench for West Brom in a 1-1 draw with Burnley. Dike’s minutes are being managed closely, and the upside is having him near full strength for the playoffs. West Brom remained in fifth place with the draw.

Cardiff City suffered a 2-1 loss to Luton Town on Tuesday with Ethan Horvath making one big save in the defeat. Cardiff is just a point clear of the relegation zone and Horvath needs to be sharp in the remaining months. Suffering a relegation could see him fade further from the USMNT picture.

Haji Wright started and played all 90 minutes for Coventry on Tuesday, which was good. But Coventry suffered a very bad 2-0 loss to Derby County (which is in the relegation zone). Coventry currently holds the last playoff position. Wright is still shaking off the rust from his long injury layoff, but Coventry really needs him back to being effective soon as Middlesbrough is chasing them and is now within striking distance.

Caleb Wiley made his second appearance for Watford in a 1-0 win over Swansea on Wednesday. It was a quiet shift, but Watford moved into 10th place with the win.

Brenden Aaronson enjoyed his best performance in weeks as Championship leaders defeated Millwall 2-0. Aaronson forced turnovers, created chances, and won duels in the win. The New Jersey native was one of the more controversial omissions from te USMNT roster for the Nations League.

Finally, Norwich fell to 12th place after a 3-2 loss at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Josh Sargent came off the bench in the 73rd minute with the score even but could not help the team achieve a result. Norwich now remains seven points out of the playoffs and now must be considered a long shot in the race.

 

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