VANCOUVER, BC – It was all square between Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency sides and San Jose Earthquakes as the U-18s claimed a win whilst the U-16s fell to a narrow loss.
A dominant performance from the U-18s saw them claim a 3-1 win in a match they never looked like losing before the U-16s lost 3-2.
The sides are back in action on Sunday as they take on another team from California, Cal Odyssey, in the penultimate matches of their respective United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) campaigns.
U-18
Whitecaps FC (17W-6L-3D) continued their impressive run of form with a convincing 3-1 victory against fellow MLS academy side San Jose Earthquakes to increase their lead at the top of the table.
It took just seven minutes for Vancouver to take the lead with Spencer Deboice producing a powerful low drive from a direct free kick to leave the 'keeper with no chance.
Five minutes later Whitecaps FC doubled their lead with some good link up play outside the area, releasing Yassin Essa as the striker finished well from the top of the box.
A third goal was added to a dominant performance late in the second half on a fine individual effort from Marco Bustos. The midfielder went past three San Jose defenders before beating the keeper with some good close control, leaving himself with an easy finish.
Coach Gordon Forrest was pleased with the overall performance from his team against tough opposition.
“It was a really strong performance today, a really good performance, and it’s good to match up against another MLS academy,” commented Forrest. “In the first half especially we played some really good football and over the course of the game we scored three really good goals.”
Whitecaps FC lineup:
Sean Melvin; Quinton Duncan, Jackson Farmer, Nick Prasad, Sam Adekugbe; Liam Elbourne, Mitch Piraux, Marco Bustos; Yassin Essa (Matthew van der Eyden 78’), Carlos Marquez (Titouan Chopin 75’), Spencer Deboice
U-16
Vancouver (7W-16L-3D) produced a solid performance against fellow MLS academy side San Jose but lost 3-2 in a close match.
Whitecaps FC got off to a dream start when Matthew Chow raced down the left wing after four minutes. He cut the ball back to Dario Zanatta and the striker bundled the ball in for the opener.
Ten minutes later Chow ventured down the left again, beating two defenders before playing the ball in for Jordan Haynes who doubled the 'Caps lead.
San Jose came back into the match when they converted a penalty on 25 minutes and the teams went into the break with Vancouver 2-1 up.
Whitecaps FC came out strong in the second half but fell to two San Jose goals in quick succession as they scored direct from a free kick in the 56th minute and then got their third on 60 minutes with a header from a corner.
Vancouver pushed for an equalizer but could not force the result as the match finished 3-2.
Assistant coach Rich Fagan was pleased with the team’s performance despite the result.
“We had a dream start but I was happy to see halftime because San Jose were beginning to get a bit of momentum about them,” said Fagan.
“We had a very strong start to the second half again, played some really good stuff, but then San Jose scored and they scored again. From that point on we had control of the game but their goalkeeper made some good saves and that’s how it finished. San Jose had some good moments but I would say the better team likely lost it today.”
Whitecaps FC lineup:
Marco Carducci; Matthew Baldisimo, Vagelli Boucas, Alex Comsia, Eric de Graaf; Jordan Haynes (Terran Campbell 70’), Jeevin Kang, Francesco Saporito (Tommy Gardner 63’); Matthew Chow, Dario Zanatta, Aymar Sigue (Joshua Cuthbert 55’)
