VANCOUVER, BC – Nicolas Mezquida scored his third goal of the season in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time, but it was too little, too late for Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8W-11L-6D).
The ‘Caps fell 2-1 to San Jose Earthquakes (7W-6L-10D) in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,120 on Friday night at BC Place after a controversial Quincy Amarikwa goal in the first half and well-taken Simon Dawkins strike in the second.
"The result disappoints me," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. "It’s a very big game against a conference rival. It gave us a mountain to climb giving up the early goal. I won’t fault the guys for passion and determination. We try to win the game of football."
"Sometimes when it goes against you, it does go against you," Robinson continued. "At the moment, it’s going against us. Do we have to be better? Of course, we do. It’s my responsibility for the guys to perform, and at the moment, they’re not performing. We need to be better.”
San Jose got things started in the 12th minute, when Fatai Alashe headed a Dawkins cross off the crossbar, before opening the scoring two minutes later.
It was not without some controversy, however.
In the 14th minute, Amarikwa got on the end of an Anibal Godoy corner. David Ousted made the initial save and appeared to trap the ball on the goalline, but it was ruled a goal by referee Drew Fischer. Replays weren’t conclusive either way. At any rate, San Jose had the early advantage.
Quincy Amarikwa heads the ball justtt across the line to open the scoring. #VANvSJhttps://t.co/tLAiD1HBpK
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 13, 2016
The ‘Caps came on strong in the latter stages of the first half.
Masato Kudo had a decent chance on a partial breakaway, Christian Bolaños fired a low shot wide on a dangerous-looking counter, and newcomer Giles Barnes nearly opened his Whitecaps FC account with a volley from the top of the box. Barnes, who was making his home debut, played on the left wing after debuting as a striker last weekend.
Vancouver had some decent chances in the early stages of the second half, too, before San Jose delivered the dagger at the hour mark. That’s when Dawkins found the back of the net with a classy strike from the left side of the box, giving the Quakes a two-goal advantage.
Simon Dawkins launches a far-post
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 13, 2016
2-0 @SJEarthquakes. #VANvSJhttps://t.co/kAJY4u9XMY
The ‘Caps, who eventually switched their 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-5-2, came close to equalizing in the 78th minute, when substitute Blas Perez headed a Mezquida cross off the bar.
Mezquida, who was lively in the second half, eventually got Vancouver on the board in the 94th minute. The Uruguayan headed one in from close range at the back post after Kendall Waston flicked on a Bolaños corner. It just wasn’t enough in the end.
The comeback fell short, but this @WhitecapsFC set piece was https://t.co/JC8wX30xkM
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 13, 2016
Next up for Whitecaps FC is back-to-back encounters with Sporting Kansas City. First, the ‘Caps visit Kansas next Saturday (7 p.m. PT on TSN1) at Children’s Mercy Park, before hosting them on Tuesday, August 23 in CONCACAF Champions League play (7 p.m. PT – tickets still available).
MCMILLAN ‘CAPS CORNER KICK DONATIONS
For every ‘Caps corner kick at home, McMillan donates $100 to the United Way. An additional $500 is donated for every goal scored off a corner kick. This match McMillan Corners for Kids has donated $1,600 for a running total of $10,100.
MATCH DETAILS
Budweiser Man of the Match: Nicolas Mezquida
Referee: Drew Fischer
Attendance: 22,120
Scoring Summary
14’ – SJ – Quincy Amarikwa (Anibal Godoy)
60’ – SJ – Simon Dawkins (Alberto Quintero)
90’ + 4’ – VAN – Nicolas Mezquida (Kendall Waston, Christian Bolaños)
Stats
Possession: Vancouver 56.1 % – San Jose 43.9 %
Shots: Vancouver 17 – San Jose 12
Shots on Goal: Vancouver 7 – San Jose 6
Saves: Vancouver 4 – San Jose 6
Fouls: Vancouver 15 – San Jose 16
Offsides: Vancouver 1 – San Jose 3
Corners: Vancouver 11 – San Jose 6
Cautions
35’ – SJ – Fatai Alashe
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.David Ousted; 26.Tim Parker, 18.David Edgar, 4.Kendall Waston, 33.Marcel de Jong (67.Alphonso Davies 66’); 15.Matías Laba (8.Fraser Aird 74’), 77.Pedro Morales ©; 7.Christian Bolaños, 11.Nicolás Mezquida, 28.Giles Barnes; 9.Masato Kudo (27.Blas Pérez 66’)
Substitutes not used
70.Paolo Tornaghi, 13.Cristian Techera 17.Andrew Jacobson, 19.Erik Hurtado
San Jose Earthquakes
1.David Bingham; 7.Cordell Cato, 4.Marvell Wynne, 5.Victor Bernardez, 3.Jordan Stewart; 91.Alberto Quintero (6.Shea Salinas 87’), 27.Fatai Alashe (17.Darwin Ceren HT), 30.Anibal Godoy, 49.Simon Dawkins; 8.Chris Wondolowski ©, 25.Quincy Amarikwa (19.Chad Barrett 83’)
Substitutes not used
28.Andrew Tarbell, 10.Henok Goitom, 20.Shaun Francis, 32.Andres Imperiale
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket, and single match tickets. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
