Whitecaps bounced by Tigres
Vancouver falls 2-1 at home after 2-0 loss in Mexico
VANCOUVER — AndrePierre Gignac scored a stunning goal in the 63rd minute as Tigres UNAL defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Wednesday night to secure a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final.
The Mexican champions won the first leg of the semifinal 2-0 and advanced with a 4-1 aggregate victory over the Major League Soccer side.
Damian Alavarez had the other goal for Tigres.
Brek Shea scored just over two minutes into the match to give Vancouver life, but the hosts were unable to find another goal.
Tigres will take on Pachuca, which beat FC Dallas of MLS in the other semi, in an allMexican final later this month.
In hopes of making things uncomfortable for the visitors — Wednesday’s high in Monterrey was 27 C — the Whitecaps decided to leave the retractable roof at B.C. Place Stadium open for the match. Vancouver Whitecap Fredy Montero, left, and Tigres’ Guido Pizarro vie for the ball during first half CONCACAFChampionsLeaguesocceractioninVancouveronWednesday.Tigreswon2-1. But while the temperature at kickoff was 9 C, rain that was expected never materialized.
With star-studded Tigres down 1-0 in the second half, Gignac, a French striker who made six appearances at Euro 2016, took a pass on the edge of the Vancouver penalty area and curled a perfect shot into the top corner.
The goal meant the Whitecaps needed to score three more times to advance, a miracle that didn’t come close to materializing before Alvarez, who subbed on seconds earlier, blasted a shot into the roof of the net in the 83rd minute.
Vancouver was the third Canadian team to make the semis after Toronto FC in 201112 and the Montreal Impact, who reached the final in 2014-15.