BURNABY, BC – It was a hot and fiery afternoon at Swangard Stadium, as Whitecaps FC 2 fell 4-1 to Tacoma Defiance after going down to 10-men in the first half.
It was still a memorable day for three young players from the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System, as Aidan Fong, Cristiano Da Silva, and David Ajagbe all made their professional debuts.
The match began with Tacoma Defiance holding onto possession early on. Liam Mackenzie got the first look on goal 15 minutes in, after being found on the left side. The winger tried to drill a shot across goal but it fizzed the wrong side of the post.
Tacoma Defiance broke the deadlock five minutes later, when Blake Bowen was found inside the box. Bowen dragged the ball back for Osaze de Rosario, whose quick feet allowed him the chance to fire past Max Anchor for the lead. Tacoma made it a quick-fire double just nine minutes later, with Bowen at the heart of it again. Bowen found Chris Aquino in the middle and the Tacoma player cut inside onto his left and unleashed a low shot past the outstretched Anchor to make it 2-0.
WFC2 continued to fight to try to get one back before the break, despite going a man down due to a red card to Eliot Goldthorp in the 36th minute. Anchor and his defence kept his side in it after a flurry of chances fell for Yu Tsukanome, but they went into the break just two goals behind.
The second half began with the ‘Caps searching to get back into the match.
Whitecaps FC 2 got a lifeline almost an hour into the match, when they got a goal back off a set-piece opportunity. Mihail Gherasimencov sent a cross towards the back for Finn Linder to head down in the box. Malek Mehri pounced on the loose ball and fired towards goal, bouncing off bodies before bobbling into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The visitors, however, had an instant response in the 64th minute. Malcolm Simmons was adjudged to have brought his man down illegally in the box, granting the Defiance with a spot-kick. Aquino stepped up and dispatched his penalty to regain the two-goal lead for Tacoma.
Tacoma made it four on the night after Snyder Brunell found Sebastian Gomez in the box, with Gomez volleying a low effort past Anchor. The young ‘Caps would fight for the rest of the match to try to reduce the deficit, but it would end up staying 4-1 on the night for Tacoma.
Whitecaps FC 2 are back in action next Sunday, July 28 on the road against Real Monarchs SLC in Salt Lake City at 4 p.m. PT. The young ‘Caps will next host Colorado Rapids 2 at Swangard Stadium on Wednesday, August 7 at 6 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/wfc2.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Mo Mohseni
Scoring Summary
22’ – TAC – Osaze De Rosario (Blake Bowen)
31’ – TAC – Chris Aquino (Blake Bowen)
57’ – VAN – Malek Mehri (Finn Linder)
64’ – TAC – Chris Aquino (penalty)
74’ – TAC – Sebastian Gomez (Snyder Brunell)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 34% - TAC 66%
Shots: VAN 6 - TAC 11
Shots on Goal: VAN 3 - TAC 5
Saves: VAN 1 - TAC 3
Fouls: VAN 7 - TAC 18
Offsides: VAN 1 - TAC 5
Corners: VAN 3 - TAC 3
Cautions
19’ – VAN – Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau


36’ – VAN – Eliot Goldthorp
36’ – VAN – Eliot Goldthorp
55’ – TAC – Osaze de Rosario
56’ – TAC – Antino Lopez
90’ – TAC – Jacob Castro
Ejection
36’ – VAN – Eliot Goldthorp
Whitecaps FC 2
50.Max Anchor; 83.Finn Linder, 53.Buster Sjöberg ©, 95.Joshué Ndakala (74.Aidan Fong 82’), 54.Mihail Gherasimencov; 49.Malek Mehri (84.Amoni Thomas 75’), 48.Malcolm Simmons; 41.Eliot Goldthorp, 97.Liam Mackenzie (81.Cristiano Da Silva 86'); 55.Cyprian Kachwele (75.David Ajagbe 82’), 52.Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau (96.Mateo Clark 86')
Substitutes
not used
99.Matheus De Souza, 51.Dembo Saidykhan
Tacoma Defiance
29.Jacob Castro; 85.Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (32.Owen O’Malley 75’), 35.Antino Lopez, 31.Travian Sousa, 96.Blake Bowen; 77.Sota Kitahara, 37.Snyder Brunell (97.Burke Fahling 75’); 80.Chris Aquino, 88.Faysal Bettache (90.Sebastian Gomez 54’), 36.Yu Tsukanome (93.Georgi Minoungou 59’); 95.Osaze de Rosario (81.Raul Miglietti 75’)
Substitutes not used
30.Lars Helleren, 44.Etienne Veillard, 53.Gallatin Sandnes, 72.Omar Hassan
