Vancouver Whitecaps win their 1st Amway Canadian Championship title

Since joining Major League Soccer, the Vancouver Whitecaps have been fervently chasing one accolade: The Voyageurs Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the Amway Canadian Championship.

That dream finally became a reality when the Whitecaps defeated the Montreal Impact 2-0 in the second leg of the final at BC Place, for a 4-2 aggregate win and a historic first Canadian Championship title to the club's name.

Goals courtesy of Octavio Rivero and Tim Parker gave the Whitecaps a healthy lead at home, but it was an advantageous first-half red card to Montreal defender Victor Cabrera that left the Whitecaps feeling comfortable throughout the match.

"We're trying to build something here at this club," head coach Carl Robinson told reporters after the match. "People kept reminding me that we hadn't won it. So today we made a little bit of history which is fantastic, and hopefully it's the first of many."

Vancouver has had a rough go of things in the last six iterations of this tournament, dating back to their time in the lower divisions before joining MLS in 2011. The 'Caps could only sit and watch as the cup was snatched from their fingertips in 2009 by Toronto FC, as the Reds defeated Montreal 6-1 to win the title on goal differential after ending the "Group" format tied at the top in points.

It was a day Reds fans called the "Miracle in Montreal," but it was a nightmare for Vancouver, which would have won the trophy if not for Dwayne De Rosario and company's huge comeback effort. It was the first in a series of oh-so-close loses for Vancouver, a run of hard luck that eventually had pundits calling the team's efforts "cursed."

Canadian international Russell Teibert, the tournament MVP this year, explained that while his team has endured "too many heartbreaks with this tournament," the Whitecaps' fortunes are now changing.

"It's about damn time we won it," Teibert said. "We gotta get used to winning trophies. We gotta get used to winning championships. This team, it's our time now."

Teibert may very well be right; the Whitecaps currently sit second in the Western Conference in MLS, one point behind the LA Galaxy, but with one game in hand. And, with this Voyageurs Cup win, they have also booked a berth in next year's CONCACAF Champions League.