# 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season

The 2011 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the Whitecaps' debut season in Major League Soccer. The MLS club has incorporated the history of its NASL and various lower division predecessors into its marketing campaigns, reflecting 36 years of professional soccer in Vancouver.
On March 19, 2011, Vancouver Whitecaps defeated Toronto FC at Empire Field in their league opening match by a score of 4–2. It was the first match between two Canadian clubs in league history. Vancouver Whitecaps gave up the 8,000th goal in league history in the game. The regular season ended at BC Place on October 22, 2011 with a 2–1 loss to Colorado Rapids leaving them in last place overall.

## Players
### Squad

| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (age) | Previous club |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Joe Cannon | GK | (1975-01-01) January 1, 1975 (age 49) | San Jose |
| 18 | Jay Nolly | GK | (1982-01-02) January 2, 1982 (age 42) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 24 | Brian Sylvestre | GK | (1992-12-19) December 19, 1992 (age 31) | Vancouver (Residency) |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Michael Boxall | CB | (1988-08-18) August 18, 1988 (age 36) | UC Santa Barbara |
| 3 | Bilal Duckett | CB | (1989-01-09) January 9, 1989 (age 35) | Notre Dame |
| 4 | Alain Rochat | LB | (1983-02-01) February 1, 1983 (age 41) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 6 | Jay DeMerit | CB | (1979-12-04) December 4, 1979 (age 44) | Watford |
| 14 | Greg Janicki | CB | (1984-07-09) July 9, 1984 (age 40) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 19 | Carlyle Mitchell | CB | (1987-08-08) August 8, 1987 (age 37) | Joe Public |
| 25 | Jonathan Leathers | RB | (1985-11-05) November 5, 1985 (age 38) | Kansas City |
| 26 | Jordan Harvey | LB | (1984-01-28) January 28, 1984 (age 40) | Philadelphia |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 11 | John Thorrington | MF | (1979-11-17) November 17, 1979 (age 44) | Chicago |
| 12 | Jeb Brovsky | CM | (1988-12-03) December 3, 1988 (age 35) | Notre Dame |
| 13 | Michael Nanchoff | MF | (1988-09-24) September 24, 1988 (age 36) | Akron |
| 15 | Philippe Davies | MF | (1990-12-20) December 20, 1990 (age 33) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 16 | Nizar Khalfan | MF | (1988-06-21) June 21, 1988 (age 36) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 20 | Davide Chiumiento | RW | (1984-11-22) November 22, 1984 (age 39) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 22 | Shea Salinas | LW | (1986-06-24) June 24, 1986 (age 38) | Philadelphia |
| 27 | Alexandre Morfaw | MF | (1987-08-31) August 31, 1987 (age 37) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 28 | Gershon Koffie | MF | (1991-08-25) August 25, 1991 (age 33) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 31 | Russell Teibert | LW | (1992-12-22) December 22, 1992 (age 31) | Vancouver (USSF-D2) |
| 33 | Peter Vagenas | CM | (1978-02-06) February 6, 1978 (age 46) | Seattle |
| Forwards ||||||
| 7 | Mustapha Jarju | ST | (1986-07-18) July 18, 1986 (age 38) | R.A.E.C. Mons |
| 9 | Atiba Harris | ST | (1985-01-09) January 9, 1985 (age 39) | Dallas |
| 17 | Omar Salgado | ST | (1993-09-10) September 10, 1993 (age 31) | Guadalajara |
| 23 | Long Tan | FW | (1988-04-01) April 1, 1988 (age 36) | Tampa Bay |
| 29 | Eric Hassli | ST | (1981-05-03) May 3, 1981 (age 43) | Zürich |
| 37 | Camilo | ST | (1988-07-21) July 21, 1988 (age 36) | Gyeongnam |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| November 18, 2010 | Jay DeMerit | DF | Watford | Free transfer; rights acquired via allocation ranking |
| November 24, 2010 | Sanna Nyassi | MF | Seattle Sounders FC | Expansion Draft, subsequently traded |
| November 24, 2010 | Atiba Harris | FW | FC Dallas | Expansion Draft |
| November 24, 2010 | Nathan Sturgis | MF | Seattle Sounders FC | Expansion Draft, subsequently traded |
| November 24, 2010 | Shea Salinas | MF | Philadelphia Union | Expansion Draft |
| November 24, 2010 | Alan Gordon | FW | Chivas USA | Expansion Draft, subsequently traded |
| November 24, 2010 | O'Brian White | FW | Toronto FC | Expansion Draft, subsequently traded |
| November 24, 2010 | Alejandro Moreno | FW | Philadelphia Union | Expansion Draft, subsequently traded |
| November 24, 2010 | Joe Cannon | GK | San Jose Earthquakes | Expansion Draft |
| November 24, 2010 | Jonathan Leathers | DF | Sporting Kansas City | Expansion Draft |
| November 24, 2010 | John Thorrington | MF | Chicago Fire | Expansion Draft |
| November 26, 2010 | Jay Nolly | GK | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| November 26, 2010 | Wes Knight | DF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| November 26, 2010 | Philippe Davies | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| December 10, 2010 | Terry Dunfield | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| December 10, 2010 | Greg Janicki | DF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| January 13, 2011 | Omar Salgado | FW | United States U-20's | SuperDraft, 1st round |
| January 21, 2011 | Alain Rochat | DF | Zürich | Undisclosed |
| February 9, 2011 | Nizar Khalfan | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| February 9, 2011 | Gershon Koffie | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| March 4, 2011 | Eric Hassli | FW | FC Zürich | Undisclosed |
| March 8, 2011 | Davide Chiumiento | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| March 11, 2011 | Blake Wagner | DF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| March 11, 2011 | Long Tan | FW | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| March 15, 2011 | Brian Sylvestre | GK | Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | Free |
| March 15, 2011 | Jeb Brovsky | DF | University of Notre Dame | SuperDraft, 2nd round |
| March 15, 2011 | Bilal Duckett | DF | University of Notre Dame | SuperDraft, 3rd round |
| March 17, 2011 | Russell Teibert | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free; signed to Generation Adidas contract |
| March 17, 2011 | Alexandre Morfaw | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| March 17, 2011 | Michael Boxall | DF | UC Santa Barbara | Supplemental Draft, 1st round |
| March 17, 2011 | Camilo Sanvezzo | FW | Gyeongnam FC | Undisclosed |
| March 25, 2011 | Kevin Harmse | DF | Unattached | Free |
| March 31, 2011 | Mouloud Akloul | DF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (USSF-D2) | Free |
| April 28, 2011 | Peter Vagenas | MF | Unattached | Free |
| July 7, 2011 | Jordan Harvey | DF | Philadelphia Union | Allocation money |
| July 12, 2011 | Mustapha Jarju | FW | R.A.E.C. Mons | Free |
| September 15, 2011 | Carlyle Mitchell | CB | Joe Public | Free |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| November 24, 2010 | Alan Gordon | FW | Chivas USA | Traded for allocation money and use of an International Roster Spot for 2011 |
| November 24, 2010 | Alejandro Moreno | FW | Chivas USA | Traded for allocation money and use of an International Roster Spot for 2011 |
| November 24, 2010 | Sanna Nyassi | MF | Colorado Rapids | Traded for an International Roster Spot |
| November 24, 2010 | O'Brian White | FW | Seattle Sounders FC | Traded for allocation money |
| November 25, 2010 | Nathan Sturgis | MF | Toronto FC | Traded for a 2011 SuperDraft Round 1 pick |
| June 10, 2011 | Kevin Harmse | DF | | Waived |
| July 14, 2011 | Terry Dunfield | MF | Toronto FC | Traded for allocation money and rights to Keven Aleman |
| July 28, 2011 | Mouloud Akloul | DF | | Waived |
| July 28, 2011 | Blake Wagner | DF | Real Salt Lake | Waived, free transfer |
| August 31, 2011 | Wes Knight | DF | | Waived |

## Stats

    Last updated for match on October 22, 2011.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Major League Soccer | Major League Soccer | Canadian Championship | Canadian Championship |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Joe Cannon | 21 | 0 | 20+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Michael Boxall | 21 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Bilal Duckett | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | SUI | Alain Rochat | 32 | 3 | 27+1 | 3 | 4+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | USA | Jay DeMerit | 23 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | GAM | Mustapha Jarju | 10 | 0 | 5+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | SKN | Atiba Harris | 5 | 2 | 5+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | John Thorrington | 11 | 0 | 9+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | USA | Michael Nanchoff | 5 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | USA | Jeb Brovsky | 25 | 0 | 16+8 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | USA | Greg Janicki | 12 | 0 | 8+2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | CAN | Philippe Davies | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | TAN | Nizar Khalfan | 26 | 1 | 9+13 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | USA | Omar Salgado | 16 | 1 | 5+9 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Jay Nolly | 17 | 0 | 14+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | TRI | Carlyle Mitchell | 3 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | SUI | Davide Chiumiento | 29 | 2 | 20+6 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | USA | Shea Salinas | 30 | 1 | 18+8 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | CHN | Long Tan | 13 | 1 | 4+9 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Brian Sylvestre | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | USA | Jonathan Leathers | 26 | 0 | 21+1 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | USA | Jordan Harvey | 14 | 0 | 14+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | CMR | Alexandre Morfaw | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | GHA | Gershon Koffie | 32 | 1 | 28+1 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | FRA | Eric Hassli | 30 | 11 | 21+5 | 10 | 4+0 | 1 |
| 31 | MF | CAN | Russell Teibert | 15 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | USA | Peter Vagenas | 16 | 0 | 13+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | BRA | Camilo | 36 | 13 | 29+3 | 12 | 3+1 | 1 |
| - | DF | FRA | Mouloud Akloul* | 10 | 1 | 7+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| - | MF | CAN | Terry Dunfield* | 16 | 2 | 11+1 | 1 | 4+0 | 1 |
| - | DF | CAN | Kevin Harmse* | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | USA | Blake Wagner* | 11 | 0 | 9+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| - | DF | USA | Wes Knight* | 12 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
* = Player is no longer with team

### Starting XI

MLS regular season matches only.
| No. | Pos. | Name | MS | Notes |
| 18 | GK | Nolly | 14 | Cannon has 12 starts. |
| 25 | RB | Leathers | 19 | |
| 2 | CB | Boxall | 16 | |
| 6 | CB | DeMerit | 12 | Janicki has 8 starts. |
| 4 | LB | Rochat | 21 | Harvey has 6 starts. |
| 20 | RW | Chiumiento | 16 | Knight has 10 starts. |
| 13 | CM | Brovsky | 11 | Vagenas has 9 starts. |
| 28 | CM | Koffie | 20 | |
| 22 | LW | Salinas | 14 | Teibert has 5 starts. |
| 37 | FW | Camilo | 21 | Jarju has 3 starts. |
| 29 | FW | Hassli | 17 | Salgado has 5 starts. |
Last updated: August 27, 2011 Source: Squad stats and Start formations. Only competitive matches. Using the most used start formation. Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).

## Club
### Front office and staff

| Position | Staff |
| Owners | Greg Kerfoot Stephen Luczo Jeff Mallett Steve Nash |
| Head Coach | Tom Soehn |
| Assistant Coaches | Colin Miller Denis Hamlett |
| Staff Coach | Martin Nash |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Marius Rovde |
| Director of Operations | Tom Soehn |
| Youth Director | Richard Grootscholten |
Last updated: January 8, 2011 Source: Vancouver Whitecaps FC Official Website

## Competitions
### Preseason

Before a six-week winter break, the Whitecaps trained for a week in Oxnard, California. During that period, they played an inter-squad scrimmage, as well as two matches against local fourth-tier PDL club Ventura County Fusion. The Whitecaps defeated the Fusion 2–1 on December 2, with goals from Terry Dunfield and Nizar Khalfan, and 3–1 on December 8, with goals from Nizar Khalfan, Kyle Porter and Terry Dunfield.

#### Cascadia Summit
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Major League Soccer | — | 18th | May 19, 2011 | October 22, 2011 |
| Canadian Championship | Semifinals | Runner-up | April 27, 2011 | July 2, 2011 |
Updated to match played October 22, 2012 Source: Competitions

### Major League Soccer

Vancouver Whitecaps FC's first regular season in Major League Soccer begins March 19, 2011 and ends October 22, 2011.

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LA Galaxy (S, C) | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 67 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 63 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 53 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 52 | |
| 5 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 51 | |
| 6 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 49 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 7 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 49 | |
| 8 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 48 | |
| 9 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 47 | |
| 10 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 46 | |
| 11 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 43 | |
| 12 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 42 | |
| 13 | D.C. United | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 39 | |
| 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 38 | |
| 15 | Chivas USA | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 36 | |
| 16 | Toronto FC | 34 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 36 | 59 | −23 | 33 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 17 | New England Revolution | 34 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 28 | |
| 18 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 35 | 55 | −20 | 28 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
| 34 | 28 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 35 | 55 | −20 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 31 | −20 |
Last updated: October 22, 2011 Source: MLSSoccer.com Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | D | D | L | D | L | L | D | D | L | D | D | L | D | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | W | L | L |
| Position | 1 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 |

#### Match results

Schedule
Win  Draw  Loss

### Nutrilite Canadian championship

The club participates in the Canadian Championship. The champion of the tournament qualifies for the preliminary round of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League.
For the first time in the tournament's history, a playoff format was used as opposed to a round robin format. The tournament seeding was based on the results of the 2010 edition of the tournament, with Vancouver being seeded second. In their semi-final playoff with the Montreal Impact, the Whitecaps won the opening leg in Montreal 1–0 on a goal by Terry Dunfield. The second leg was contested in Vancouver, where Montreal led 1–0 after full-time, for an aggregate score of 1–1. Because both teams had scored one away goal, extra time was needed to determine the aggregate winner. In extra time, Mouloud Akloul scored on a rebound following an Alain Rochat free kick to send the Whitecaps to the final versus Toronto FC.

#### Finals
### World Football Challenge

On April 14 it was announced that the Whitecaps would host Manchester City as part of the 2011 World Football Challenge.

### Cascadia Cup

The Whitecaps have had a long-standing rivalry with the Pacific Northwest clubs Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers, dating back to the 1970s when ancestry clubs of the same name played in the original and now-defunct North American Soccer League. The tri-member tournament will continue with the expansion of the Whitecaps and the Timbers. The winner is determined through league matches between the sides, and the club with the best record against both sides wins the trophy.
The Cascadia Cup was awarded to the Seattle Sounders on September 24 when the Sounders defeated the Whitecaps 3–1 at Empire Field. Vancouver finished in third place after losing to Portland on October 2.

## Recognition
### MLS Player of the Week

| Week | Player | Week's Statline |
| Week 3 | Camilo | 2G (90'+2', 90'+3') |

### MLS Goal of the Week

| Week | Player | Goal | Report |
| 2 | Eric Hassli | 85' | GOTW |

### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Player/Manager | Position | Report |
| 1 | Davide Chiumiento | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 1 Archived October 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 1 | Eric Hassli | FW | MLS Team of the Week: 1 Archived October 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 2 | Alain Rochat | DF | MLS Team of the Week: 2 |
| 3 | Camilo | FW | MLS Team of the Week: 3 |
| 4 | Nizar Khalfan | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 4 |
| 13 | Eric Hassli | FW | MLS Team of the Week: 13 |
| 14 | Alain Rochat | DF | MLS Team of the Week: 14 |
| 14 | Davide Chiumiento | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 14 |
| 14 | Eric Hassli | FW | MLS Team of the Week: 14 |
| 19 | Shea Salinas | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 19 |
| 21 | Eric Hassli | FW | MLS Team of the Week: 21 |
| 24 | Alain Rochat | DF | MLS Team of the Week: 24 |
| 24 | Gershon Koffie | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 24 |
| 24 | Joe Cannon | GK | MLS Team of the Week: 24 |
| 26 | Gershon Koffie | MF | MLS Team of the Week: 26 |

### MLS All-Stars 2011

| Position | Player | Note |
| FW | Eric Hassli | Inactive roster |

## Miscellany
### Allocation ranking

Vancouver is in the No. 13 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. Vancouver started 2011 ranked No. 1 on the allocation list and used its ranking to acquire Jay DeMerit. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.

### International roster spots

Vancouver has 10 international roster spots. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots, which can be traded. Vancouver acquired its first additional spot from Chivas USA on November 24, 2010 for use in the 2011 season only. On the same day Vancouver acquired a second additional spot from Colorado Rapids. Press reports did not indicate when, or if, this spot returns to Colorado. There is no limit on the number of international slots on each club's roster. The remaining roster slots must belong to domestic players. For clubs based in Canada, a domestic player is either a player with the legal right to work in Canada (i.e., Canadian citizen, permanent resident, part of a protected class) or a U.S. citizen, a permanent U.S. resident (green card holder) or the holder of other special U.S. status (e.g., refugee or asylum status).

### Future draft pick trades

Future picks acquired: None, but Vancouver has acquired undisclosed future considerations from Toronto FC which may or may not include draft pick(s).
Future picks traded: None.