Vancouver Football Club may have wished to wrap up its inaugural season with a victory on home pitch at Willoughby Stadium Friday night 鈥� but it wasn鈥檛 in the cards.

VFC registered its first-ever franchise win back in April against York, when attacker Shaan Singh Hundal scoring the franchise鈥檚 first goal.

Vancouver has since fallen twice to York United in close matches. This too was a close match with VFC push through until the final whistle.

The 91原创-based pro soccer expansion team, playing in the Canadian Premier League, broke its three-game winning streak when it fell 2-1 to the Toronto-area York United FC, forward Mikael Cantave scoring the lone goal of the night for VFC.

It turned out to be a big day for Cantave, for multiple reasons.

It was confirmed Friday that Cantave has been called up to the Haitian men鈥檚 national team for the Concacaf Nations League group stage matches later this month, and he expressed his appreciation for the call up after Friday鈥檚 game.

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Cantave, 26, has represented Haiti in international competition since 2018.

He has earned 12 caps for the country of his father鈥檚 birth and scored one goal for Haiti in the 2018 Concacaf Nations League qualification.

Cantave鈥檚 most recent call up to the Haitian men鈥檚 national team was in 2021 for Concacaf World Cup qualification, where Haiti was eliminated by Canada in the second round of competition.

Haiti will compete in League A of the Concacaf Nations League group stage and face Suriname on Thursday, Oct. 12 at Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadium, Paramaribo, SUR, before playing against Jamaica on Sunday, Oct. 15.

The winner and runner up in the group will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will join Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament serves as a qualifier for Concacaf teams participating in the CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024.

Cantave has made 12 starts in 15 appearances for Vancouver FC, since joining the club at the end of June. He came from Cavalry FC.

Described as a 鈥渄ynamic forward,鈥� he has registered five CPL goals in 2023, including three for VFC, as well as two assists in 1,559 minutes of playe

Previously, Cantave represented Canada in youth competitions including at the 2013 Concacaf U-17 Championship, where the team won a bronze medal, and at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

While he鈥檚 off to compete on the world stage again, Cantave took a few moments to reflect on VFC鈥檚 first season, and the role as an 鈥渙lder brother鈥� that he feels he鈥檚 taken on in the locker room and on the field.

Admittedly, he said, since the team was knocked out of playoff contention last month, there鈥檚 been less pressure on the players and he feels they鈥檝e grown and learned a lot together.

The last three wins ahead of Friday鈥檚 game, he felt also went a long ways to building the team鈥檚 confidence and skills, values he expects they鈥檒l take into training and next year鈥檚 play.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to look to build on these performances, especially those from the last month and a half, to help us build a solid foundation for next season,鈥� said player #19, Cantave.

Head coach Afshin Ghotbi said he was proud of his team鈥檚 efforts and spirit, and while the first two-thirds of their season was 鈥渘ot so good as I expected us to be,鈥� he said changes to the line up, the addition of several mature players, and far more depth and learning by the younger players started turning things around in the later part of the season.

In fact, he called the last 10 games of the season 鈥渞eal impressive,鈥� and is confident it鈥檚 building on the foundation of the fledgling team.

鈥淲e showed how we want to be,鈥� Ghotbi said, 鈥渁nd what kind of team we鈥檙e going to be.鈥�

While he expressed pride in the players, the head coach was quick to also recognize the fans for the role they鈥檝e played in growing the expansion team this year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 meant a lot to me鈥� I think what the fans do, they inspire people, they give you purpose that gives you a certain anchor that gives you the motivation to work 鈥� so you find that your work is meaningful. It gives our players a certain energy to go through even the difficult times,鈥� Ghotbi said.

鈥淭hank you to everyone who supported us in our inaugural campaign,鈥� the team posted on social media after the game.

鈥淎 season of highs and lows, but we can鈥檛 wait for you to see what we鈥檙e building鈥� Soar with us in 2024.鈥�

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