Coach Mark Briggs had four players available from parent RSL and started 3 of them. Captain Nick Besler was in his customary role at defensive midfield while Demar Phillips came in at left fullback and Sebastian Saucedo joined at left winger. With these additions and the injury to Taylor Peay’s hand/arm the Monarchs also went back to the familiar 4-2-3-1 they favored for much of the season.
From the onset the match was a very chippy affair with a lot of strong tackles and pushing from both sides. The Whitecaps game plan was obviously to disrupt the center of the Monarchs and force quick counters through the center of the field.