Led by Izzy D'Aquila, the Portland Thorns reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup

The Portland Thorns understood the task.

Heading into the CONCACAF Women's Champions Cup group stage final against Vancouver, Portland needed to win by three goals or more to secure a place in the tournament's semifinal round.

Led by Izzy D'Aquila, the Thorns wasted no time punching their ticket.

D'Aquilla scored a brace in the first half and then saw four different Thorns – including Christine Sinclair in her final game in Canada – score in the second half to lead Portland to an easy 6-0 victory.

The Thorns finished second to the San Diego Wave in the five-game Group B phase with a record of 3-1-0.

After their shocking 2-0 win over previously unbeaten Orlando in league play on Friday, the Thorns entered Tuesday's tournament play with a wave of momentum that immediately showed on the field. The Thorns pushed the ball with ease down the right side early in the game and directed the offense through forward Payton Linnehan to keep Vancouver on their heels.

And although the Thorns needed a save from Shelby Hogan and another save at the post while the game was still scoreless, the Thorns were the first to get through when Sinclair played a long pass to Linnehan, who pushed the ball in from the right side left to D'Aquilla, who effortlessly fired a shot past the Vancouver goalkeeper in the 22nd minute. In the 36th minute, D'Aquilla sent home a rebound after a Sinclair shot from inside the box deflected straight to her.

Linnehan scored in the 54th minute after an assist from D'Aquilla, and on the day she signed a contract extension through the 2026 season, Alexa Spaanstra scored her first goal for the club in the 58th minute.

Sinclair played 86 minutes in what was expected to be her final game in Canada. The 41-year-old retired from the Canadian national team last year and announced earlier this month that 2024 would be her final season in the NWSL. Her final goal in her final game in Canada came in the 85th minute with a shot from the left side. She left to a standing ovation from the 6,741 people in attendance at BC Place. Reyna Reyes scored in overtime for the Thorns. Hogan finished the game with four saves to secure the goal.

The defeat ended the run for Vancouver.

The Whitecaps squad was made up primarily of members of the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Academy and had six teenagers in the starting lineup on Tuesday. The Whitecaps qualified for the group stage with a surprise 1-0 win over eight-time El Salvador champions Alianza Women FC in the preliminary round.

Next: The Thorns (9-11-4, 31 points) return to the NWSL with their final road game of the season on Saturday against Louisville (6-11-7, 25 points).

—Tyson Alger for The Oregonian/OregonLive