September 16, 2026
Prince Owusu brace sends CF Montreal to Canadian Championship final
While all the fuss about town was for Thomas Müller, it was another German that made all the difference, as Prince Owusu fires two markers to send CF Montreal to the Canadian Championship final.
Müller, of course, is considered one of the greatest players of his generation, and spent the majority of his career playing for Bayern Munich, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer and assist provider, and this was his visit game in Montreal as a member of CF Montreal – to a rather disappointing fan turn out.
See Also: The Montreal Roses set NSL attendance record in win over Halifax Tides
This, the second game of a two match series, where the sides had played to a one all draw in Vancouver meant that both squads began tonight’s match a little gingerly.
A penalty was awarded to Montreal when Vancouver’s Sam Adekugbe elbowed Montreal’s Daniel Rios in the face, causing Rios to slump to the pitch. It took an FVS review before the referee awarded the penalty, however. Rios after some treatment was able to continue play.
Prince Owusu did what he always does; a stutter step before blasting a low, hard shot dead center of the goal. While the move has allowed him to net six goals from the spot so far this season, his last attempt against the Philadelphia Union was ultimately saved. Owusu never deviates from his patented move and tonight was no different.
Prince Owusu added a second tally fifteen minutes later, in added time, off of a brilliant bit of play from Matty Longstaff.
Longstaff has cemented himself as a key cog since joining CF Montreal from Toronto FC, both offensively and defensively, and has shown great vision along the way – which was again the case here. Longstaff saw Owusu with acres of field in front of him and a deficiency of Vancouver defenders about him, and lobbed a cheeky long chipped ball skyward that fell just in front of Prince Owusu, who was in on goal. Prince Owusu though, briefly misplaced the ball, and that fouled Whitecaps goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer into reacting to what he thought was going to be a shot, and the stumble gave Prince Owusu enough time to react to Boehmer’s mistake, and he made sure to place his strike into the abandoned netting.
Down a pair, the Vancouver Whitecaps began the second half on a mission to get back into the game, but CF Montreal’s midfield and backend proved to be a formidable foe. And when Vancouver did find room, Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza gave them only headaches. Breza has been the preferred goalkeeper of late for CF Montreal, and has shown only great things. Tonight was no different.
It wasn’t until extra time that Vancouver finally found the back of Montreal’s net, and with just three extra minutes added, the Whitecaps fate was all but sealed.
Emmanuel Sabbi profitted from a fine bit of desperation from teammate Jeevan Badwal, who lunged at a loose ball, aiming to put it into the path of Sabbi, and did, leaving Sabbi with room and a beaten Breza who had no chance on the play. Vancouver had their goal, but just two of the three minutes of extra time remained.
Despite currently sitting last in the Eastern conference of the MLS, CF Montreal are now in a position to earn some silverware this season. But to do so, they’ll first have to battle their inner demons. Montreal will be facing a foe that has shown them up in the past two consecutive seasons – the Hamilton Forge of the Canadian Premier League. The same squad that ousted Montreal from the Canadian Championship last season – the season prior to that. While they now have a chance at redemption, surely those two defeats will be present in the back of theirs minds, while for Forge FC; those same two matches will be used as the fuel to proper their belief that they can once again dispatch CF Montreal.
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The Whitecaps have won the Voyageurs Cup in each of the four previous seasons, while Montreal haven’t won the trophy since 2021. In the eighteen years since the Canadian Championship has been played, an MLS team has hoisted the cup – but Forge FC have been CF Montreal’s kryptonite in recent years, and on top of knowing that they have beaten Montreal, could well become the first Canadian Premier League side to win the cup. Thus this should be quite an interesting match.
The final will take place on October 21st at Stade Saputo in Montreal, where the victor will claim the Voyageurs Cup and automatically qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup in the process.
