SAN PEDRO DE ALCÁNTARA, SPAIN – Vancouver Whitecaps FC closed out the first phase of 2023 preseason with a 2-1 loss against Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC on Saturday at La Quinta Football Center in Spain.
The 'Caps got off to a bright start, as Pedro Vite whipped in a cross for Cristian Dájome in the eighth minute but the Colombian's header was cleared away by Wolfsberg before it could reach the target.
In the 23rd minute, the 'Caps were rewarded for their good play. Ryan Gauld played the ball in behind the Wolfsberg backline for Ali Ahmed, who cut the ball back for Dájome to finish, giving the 'Caps a 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, Vite once again was causing problems for Wolfsberg, whipping a cross into the box from a free kick that found Tristan Blackmon in the box. The defender saw his headed effort deflect just wide of the Wolfsberg goal and out for a 'Caps corner.
Fast forward to the second half, Wolfsberg would tie the match up in the 56th minute through Tai Baribo, who tapped home a deflected cross in the box to make it 1-1.
Wolfsberg would take the lead in the 77th minute, as Mario Leitgeb fired his free kick effort into the top corner.
The 'Caps will now return to Vancouver after concluding the first phase of preseason camp in Spain. The team will train in Vancouver for a week before departing for a second preseason camp in Southern California, where they'll play five preseason matches over three weeks against MLS opposition at the 2023 Coachella Valley Invitational. The first match takes place on Wednesday, February 1 as the 'Caps take on Eastern Conference side D.C. United at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.
MATCH DETAILS
Scoring Summary
23' – VAN – Cristian Dájome (Ali Ahmed)
56' – WAC – Tai Baribo
77' – WAC – Mario Leitgeb
Cautions
24' – WAC – Jonathan Scherzer
77' – VAN – Karifa Yao
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
60.Isaac Boehmer (50.Max Anchor HT); 27.Ryan Raposo (23.Javain Brown HT), 2.Mathías Laborda (12.Karifa Yao HT), 6.Tristan Blackmon (32.Salif Sané^ HT, 61.Matteo Campagna 71'), 22.Ali Ahmed (14.Luís Martins HT); 18.Alessandro Schöpf (16.Sebastian Berhalter HT), 20.Andrés Cubas (52.Vasco Fry+ HT), 31.Russell Teibert © (92.Jay Herdman+ HT, 54.Mihail Gherasimencov+ 80'); 45.Pedro Vite (28.Levonte Johnson* HT), 25.Ryan Gauld (76.Joe Hanson+ HT, 30.Kamron Habibullah 71'); 11.Cristian Dájome (29.Simon Becher HT)
^Unsigned Camp Invitee, *Unsigned MLS SuperDraft Selection, +WFC2/Academy
Wolfsberger AC
32.Lukas Gütlbauer; 8.Simon Piesinger, 24.Raphael Schifferl (22.Dominik Baumgartner HT), 3.Jonathan Scherzer (27.Michael Novak HT); 97.Adis Jasic (6.Nikolas Veratschnig HT), 17.Ervin Omić (16.Mario Leitgeb 70'), 70.Thierno Ballo (7.Konstantin Kerschbaumer HT), 30.Matthäus Taferner ©, 12.Matteo Anzolin, 77.Maurice Malone, 11.Tai Baribo
