Coffee with the Caps, Friday June 24

Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are finishing off those last tasks before heading out on your weekend.

It was a fun midweek for the team, as they (generally) dominated York United to advance to their first Voyageurs Cup final since 2018 (let’s not talk about how that one went ...).

Their opponent will be the same one it was on that fateful night, after Toronto FC battered CF Montreal. The result ensures the Caps will host the final at BC Place in about a month’s time, a big boost to their hopes of nabbing their second bit of silverware since joining MLS.

While York nabbed a goal to make things a bit nervy, it was generally one-way traffic for much of the match. By the time Brian White struck first, a goal had been coming for the better part of a half hour, if not longer, and the finish was a relief. He added another, the winner, for good measure and it was a nice return to the clinical finishing we saw last season.

This was, notably, the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic that all three DPs took the field at the same time. It is also the first time in awhile, frankly, that fans can reasonably be excited about the DPs that are being trotted out — MLS teams are defined by those players in MLS 5.0 (or is it 6.0?) and, based on current form, it is a pretty tantalizing trio.

The addition of Andres Cubas, whose praises we extolled on Monday, gave a real lift to Ryan Gauld, allowing him to push further forward and really take the initiative in the CAM role.

He responded by spraying balls across the pitch and his contributions winning the ball high up the pitch before playing in Ryan Raposo really created the first goal. He was directly credited with an assist on the second and it was deserved, a counting stat symbol of what was a Man Of The Match performance.

You can knock the Caps’ path to the final, which required a trip to PKs and an extra game against a CPL opponent. But you can only play the teams in front of you and, well, they did just that.

It hasn’t been the easiest year, though a trip to the playoffs hasn’t been ruled out. And there has been some player growth, though not as much as many of us were hoping for. The York match showed that, shockingly, having your most talented players on the pitch at the same time is a good idea. And even though there have ups and downs, you don’t get to play in a final every day (or every year). And that will be something to savor.

Shameless Self Promotion

We run down what the Caps did to earn a trip to the final in the post-match and report card

Best of the Rest

Bayern youngster Nick Salihamidžić is set to join the Caps on loan, first in MLS Next PRO and then, purportedly, in the first team. Reviews appear mixed but his dad is the sporting director so make of that what you will

ESPN has trotted out a ranking of MLS’s most watchable teams and you’ll be shocked to know the Caps don’t compare favorably

San Jose Earthquakes are set to interview former Caps man Pa-Modou Kah for their head coaching vacancy

MLS has announced Washington D.C. will host the 2023 All Star Game

A 4-0 win over Saint Kitts and Nevis helped Canada advance to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF U-20 championship