FC Edmonton and the Vancouver Whitecaps finished on level terms in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship

FC Edmonton settled for a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship Semifinal on Wednesday evening. After taking the lead inside the first five minutes, the Whitecaps managed to draw the match 1-1 in the final moments.

For the sixth time this season, FC Edmonton’s striker Tomi Ameobi found the back of the net. After the 6-foot-3 forward stripped the ball away from Vancouver’s Gershon Koffie, he calmly put it past Vancouver goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi in the fourth minute. With this goal, Ameobi ties teammate Daryl Fordyce at the top of the Amway Canadian Championship all-time scoring leaderboard with four goals.

Ten minutes from half, the Whitecaps started to get more comfortable in possession, capped off with a shot by Vancouver’s Kianz Froese that just missed the Eddies’ goal. Moments later, Vancouver had a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box, but Nicolás Mezquida’s attempt hit the Eddies well-held wall.

The Eddies went into halftime leading the match 1-0.

The second half was all about the Eddies' back line, which included a number of big saves from goalkeeper Matt VanOekel. In the 50th minute, Vancouver’s Erik Hurtado took a hard shot on goal, but the Eddies ‘keeper held his own. Minutes later, VanOekel saved Darren Mattock’s potent strike down the middle.

After a handful of substitutions by Vancouver that saw impactful players like Robert Earnshaw and Kekuta Manneh come in, the Whitecaps eventually leveled the score in the 87th minute. Midfielder Koffie made up for the mistake he made earlier in the match that resulted in Ameobi’s goal and found the back of the net the ball after latching on to a long ball to level the score at 1-1.

After six minutes of injury time, the Eddies were able to hold off Vancouver’s pressure and the 1-1 scoreline, with the crucial away goal.

“We’re happy with a point right now,” VanOekel said after the match. “The away goal is huge. I was able to get myself set in net, and I was glad to help keep the team in the game.”

FC Edmonton now return to Clarke Field for a run of three NASL and Amway Canadian Championship matches. Starting off agains thet San Antonio Scorpions on Sunday, May 17 (4 p.m. ET KO) in a match presented by The Ranch Golf & Country Club, the Eddies then play the return leg of the Amway Canadian Championship on Wednesday, May 20, (10 p.m. ET KO) against Vancouver. FC Edmonton wraps up the week against the Atlanta Silverbacks on Sunday, May 24 (4 p.m. ET).