Vancouver FC's 3-1 road loss to Atlético Ottawa on Saturday left the last-place Eagles, on the edge of being eliminated from the playoffs.
VFC's lone goal came in the 25th minute, when Nicolás Mezquida intercepted a pass from Ottawa's goalkeeper, Nathan Ingham.
David Rodríguez and Sam Salter scored the next two goals for Atlético Ottawa before VFC defender Aidan O'Connor blocked an Ottawa shot that slashed into his own net.
Vancouver now sit 18 points behind fifth place with just seven games to go - meaning that while they can't be mathematically eliminated this week, they could be officially knocked out of contention as soon as the next match day.
"Every time you step on the field as a football player, you're putting your pride on the line," Vancouver's goalkeeper and captain, Callum Irving, said afterwards. "So for us for the rest of the season, we have to focus on protecting that pride and trying to fight for points to get off the bottom of the table and start moving up as much as we can, right?"
"So as much as it's a motivating factor to have the Canadian Championship semi-final, I think there's a lot of other motivation, week by week, that we can latch onto."
Vancouver FC interim head coach Martin Nash said the team has to be "good in transition, in those moments when we win the ball, and decide whether to go forward or not."
"You've got to be good in those moments, because otherwise you're going to give the ball away, and then you can do a lot of running if that happens, and then you're going to have to deal with a lot more pressure."
Next, Vancouver returns home to 黑马磁力 to take on Valour at Willoughby Community Park on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
