2012 season | |||
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Chairman | Greg Kerfoot | ||
Manager | Martin Rennie | ||
Stadium | BC Place | ||
Major League Soccer |
5th, West 12th, Overall |
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MLS Cup Playoffs | Knockout round | ||
Canadian Championship | Runners-up | ||
Cascadia Cup | 3rd | ||
Pro Soccer Classic | Winners | ||
Top goalscorer |
League: (7) All: Darren Mattocks (8) |
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Highest home attendance | 21,000 (sell-out) vs. Montreal Impact (March 10) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (May 19) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (July 18) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (September 29) vs. Portland Timbers (October 21) |
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Lowest home attendance | 14,878 vs. Toronto FC (May 16) |
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Average home league attendance | League: 19,475 All: 18,998 |
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The 2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the Whitecaps' second season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of soccer in the United States and Canada. In 2011, the expansion Whitecaps FC struggled to find the results and finished at the bottom of the league table winning just six matches with none on the road. By finishing last overall in the regular season the Whitecaps FC received the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft that were held in January 2012.
The Whitecaps second season began on March 10 against expansion side, and Canadian rivals, Montreal Impact at BC Place with a 2–0 victory. Vancouver set a MLS record by going 427 minutes without conceding a goal to start the season. The club qualified for the playoffs for the first time on October 23 when the Seattle Sounders defeated FC Dallas. They became the first Canadian MLS team to make the playoffs in MLS history.
Vancouver finished as runners-up in the 2012 Canadian Championship after losing to Toronto FC in the Final for the second consecutive season, under the current bracket format. The Whitecaps defeated FC Edmonton with an aggregate score of 5–1 in the semi-finals before falling 2–1 on aggregate to Toronto.
By finishing last overall in the league table in 2011, the Vancouver Whitecaps received the 2nd overall draft choice in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft. The SuperDraft was held on January 12 and the club selected with their first-round pick and Chris Estridge with their second-round pick. As a Generation Adidas player, Mattocks was already signed to a league contract prior to being drafted. The Whitecaps also selected four players in the Supplemental Draft, Gienir Garcia, Greg Klazura, Andrew Fontein and Mark Fetrow. Garcia was traded shortly after to Montreal in exchange for the discovery rights to Etienne Barbara.