Whitecaps hang on for a 1-1 tie at Red Bulls in the return of CONCACAF Champions League

Quietly, and unbeknownst to most, the 2017 Major League Soccer unofficially kicked off on Wednesday night.

The New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps played each other to a 1-1 tie in New Jersey in the first competitive game of the year by any MLS team, in the opening leg of their quarterfinal in the CONCACAF Champions League. This is an enduringly awkward arrangement, courtesy of MLS’s outlier Spring-Fall season. The knockout stages of this tournament take place in a different season than the group stage. Consequently, MLS teams have struggled to compete in the knockout rounds, since they are either in their preseasons or only a few weeks underway.

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Before an almost empty Red Bull Arena, a game that wasn’t even broadcasted on an English-language network, yielded the preseason feel to be expected. Except that this is the furthest either club has ever advanced, at once making the game a glorified preseason bout with the requisite lack of fitness and sharpness, while also rendering it incredibly meaningful.

The Red Bulls had the bulk of the chances, especially after the ‘Caps went down to 10 men following the expulsion of Cristian Techera. But they were almost universally wasted, including a penalty rolled all too slowly down the middle by new Red Bull captain Sacha Kljestan. It took until the 62nd minute for mass producer of goals Bradley Wright-Phillips to offset Kekuta Manneh’s first-half go-ahead score for Vancouver.

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Both sides threatened early as Kljestan almost got on the end of a setup by Wright-Phillips and Techera swung a deep cross just wide of Red Bull goalkeeper Luis Robles’s far post. Mostly though, they were half-chances by teams getting the feel for a full-speed game again.

Before halftime, New York’s Gonzalo Veron sent a good cross in to Daniel Royer, but the Austrian couldn’t get his header on target.

In the 39th minute, a ‘Caps corner was headed on by Kendall Waston and redirected into the net by Manneh. It was a slightly fortuitous goal, and would ultimately flatter the visitors, who were outplayed on balance.

But then the Red Bulls had plenty of chances to win this game. Just after halftime, Kljestan whipped a free kick only just over. And then, after Jake Nerwinski brought down Royer in the box sort of needlessly, Kljestan’s inexplicably limp penalty kick – a failed Panenka, perhaps? – allowed David Ousted to kick it away.

Kljestan then sent a diving header just wide, before Wright-Phillips knotted up the game. He coolly scored from by the penalty spot on a Sal Zizzo cross, which Gonzalo Veron couldn’t quite control.

The Whitecaps went down to 10 in the 70th minute, when Techera collected a straight red for kicking out at Zizzo, after seemingly attempting to stamp on Felipe Martins first.

An extended barrage on Vancouver’s goal didn’t yield a winner for New York. And so Vancouver heads into the return leg on March 2 with the advantage of the away goal.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.