It was an up and down day for Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams in United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) action against Pateadores academy on Saturday at Surrey’s Newton Athletic Park, as the U-18 team took a 1-0 win, while the U-16 squad were defeated 1-0.
U-18
by Brandon Timko
The U-18 Residency team continued their winning ways with a 1-0 win against Pateadores U-17/18 on Saturday.
The ‘Caps nearly went down a goal in the first half but were saved by a terrific stop from Callum Irving on 38 minutes, as the goalkeeper did well to get down quickly and stop a shot from 10 yards out. The home team were then given an opportunity to take the lead on 60 minutes when Wesley Cain was taken down in the box. Caleb Clarke stepped up to take the enduing penalty kick, but was stopped by the ‘keeper to keep the match scoreless.
Later in the half Irving came up with another massive save, as Pateadores thought they had a goal when one of their players managed to flick a corner kick on target only to have Irving come up with an incredible diving stop to tip the ball over the net. That allowed the ‘Caps to look for a winner, which they found on 73 minutes when Yassin Essa got on the end of a low cross into the box and, after an initial swing and a miss, blasted a second attempt into the bottom corner for the win.
"It was a tough match against a good team," said Richard Grootscholten, Whitecaps FC technical director and head coach. "We had three or four more really good chances that we couldn't capitalize on, but Callum Irving was outstanding for us and played a huge part in getting the win today."
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18
Callum Irving; Declan Rodriguez, Tim Hickson, Daniel Stanese, Adam Polakiewicz; Wesley Cain (Yassin Essa 62’), Alex Rowley, Ben McKendry, Spencer DeBoice (Carlos Patino 80’) , Ben Fisk; Caleb Clarke (Carlos Marquez 69’)
U-16
by Joshua Nanavaty
The U-16 Residency team had a tough afternoon as they fell 1-0 to Pateadores U-15/16 on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
The ‘Caps got off to a shaky start but goalkeeper Marco Carducci kept them in it with a couple of key early saves. Carducci charged out and made a terrific stop on six minutes, and then made another diving stop on a Pateadores striker in the 18th minute. The teams went into half with both having limited scoring chances and a 0-0 score.
Pateadores came out charging after the break and took the lead on a close range strike roughly ten minutes into the second half. The Blue and White would have a few chances to try and equalize with the best coming off a Matthew Chow corner, which just sailed over the head of newcomer Sadi Jalali. Trailing late on in the match, ‘Caps defender Sam Adekugbe got a straight red card from the referee, making a comeback more difficult. Though the home side pressured late, they could not find an equaliser as the match came to an end.
"We created enough chances to come away with points today, but that final touch just wasn't there for us today," said Craig Dalrymple, Whitecaps FC assistant technical director and assistant head coach. "There are a lot of positives to take away, even though we didn't get the result we wanted."
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
Marco Carducci; Matthew van dey Eyden, Jackson Farmer, Sam Adekugbe, Jordan Haynes; Parker Ellis (Matthew Chow), Elijah Adekugbe (Liam Elbourne 40’), Mitch Piraux, Sebastien Cabrera, Marco Bustos; Sadi Jalali
