My first taste of cup glory came at about eight years old, playing for Africa United FC in Burnaby 鈥� it's a long way off a Canadian Championship semifinal tonight, but I can still remember the feeling.
It was in an annual youth tournament organized by the African Canadian Soccer and Cultural Association, and other than how much fun we had and the celebrations, I don't remember all that much about the games. From the pictures still up in my house though, we went all the way to the final and won.
I ended up with the player of the tournament and golden boot trophies, too. So it was a good start to playing knockout soccer.
Tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 13) in 91原创 we face Atletico Ottawa in the biggest game in Vancouver FC's history 鈥� the club's first-ever Canadian Championship semifinal appearance.
If we win over two legs we will become the only Canadian Premier League (CPL) team to have contested the final of our national cup competition, the most important soccer tournament in Canada less than a year before we host a World Cup.
It feels like an exciting time for the club and soccer in the community.
Cup football is just different.
With the league, there are times when it's harder for a game to feel as competitive or as meaningful.
But in the cup, every game, every minute means something.
And it's just the team who wants it the most on the day that usually wins, really.
Anything can happen in the cup, it's all on the line. We've already had derby wins and penalty shootout drama to get this far.
Over two legs also, there's usually lots of tactical changes happening from both teams. And again, being a cup game, that might mean a different style of playing just to get the win or to solidify it.
When I think of cup competitions, I remember as a very young kid watching Arsenal play in the English FA Cup on television, the oldest cup competition in the world.
That's my very first memory of it, while my standout memory of playing knockout cup football was winning the PAC Northwest Tournament in the U.S. with VanCity Pro. Aged about 13. I remember we did well in the semifinals, and then killed it in the final, and I scored the first goal in a four- or five-to-nothing victory.
Them guys are still some of my best friends, and the likes of Tristan Otuomagie with TSS Rovers and Evan Semple and Brody Perkin with Unity FC are all local players doing well now in League 1 BC. We still talk about that weekend.
It was such a run of momentum game on game, and then just a really good feeling to win it out in the final. I think that cup run is when I was really pushed to lead the team, too, which helped me improve and take the next step in my career, which from VanCity Pro was signing with Vancouver FC just after turning 16.
But it wasn't easy, especially because we weren't playing at home. In the States, parents are very, very passionate. So, it was definitely harder on us being that young, when the cheering was definitely not going our way. But we still did it.
In tonight's first leg in Willoughby Stadium we will be at home. Which is great. I know the Vancouver FC fans will definitely show up and get behind the team. And us, the players will be hyped for it, for sure.
I feel we don't have much to lose, as to be honest, I don't think a lot of the other teams will be thinking that highly of us.
But I know we'll be able to surprise them. Because even though a lot of us in the squad are still so young, we have enough experience of playing cup football to know what's at stake and how good the winning feeling is.
We've already caused a few upsets to get to the semifinals, and we will give our best to go at least one step further and make even more history.
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鈥� Taryck Jordan Tahid, 18, is a Maple Ridge local playing midfield for Vancouver FC soccer team, who is writing a regular column through to the end of the season. In 2023 he became the youngest player to sign and appear in a CPL match at 16, and then the youngest goal-scorer in league history. He played for Canada in the U17 World Cup, and has since represented Ghana in the U20 African Cup of Nations. Watch for his weekly feature online.
