HONOLULU, HAWAII – Vancouver Whitecaps FC opened their 2018 preseason campaign with a 4-0 win over J1 League side Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on Tuesday at the University of Hawaii.
Tim Parker led the way for Vancouver with a first-half brace, heading in a free kick from Cristian Techera and corner kick from Nicolas Mezquida. Newcomer Kei Kamara also found the back of the net in the first half, finishing a low strike from inside the box after some fine work by Brek Shea in midfield. Bernie Ibini capped off the afternoon with a stoppage time tally set up by Alphonso Davies and 15-year-old Whitecaps FC Residency player Simon Colyn.
Stefan Marinovic also came up big for Whitecaps FC, making a pair of highlight reel saves in the first half on a header from the top of the six-yard box and a chipped effort from in tight.
Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson fielded a starting XI featuring Marinovic, a back four of Mark Bloom, Kendall Waston, Tim Parker, and Justin Fiddes, a midfield duo of Efrain Juarez and Russell Teibert, and an attacking trio of Techera, Mezquida, and Shea behind Kamara.
The ‘Caps then made a full lineup change at halftime.
In the 78th minute, Robinson also brought on Colyn in place of Myer Bevan up top. The youngster looked lively in his limited minutes, playing a one-two with Davies to help set up Ibini’s late goal.
The ‘Caps are back in action on Thursday against Japanese club Iwaki FC in their opening match of the first annual Pacific Rim Cup (7 p.m. PT kickoff). They will then conclude the tournament on Saturday against either Columbus Crew SC or Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (6 p.m. PT or 9 p.m. PT kickoff).
Both matches will be played at Aloha Stadium and streamed live at facebook.com/whitecapsfc.
Whitecaps FC kick off the 2018 MLS regular season on Sunday, March 4 against Montreal Impact at BC Place. The home opener pack is available for only $70, featuring two tickets and a scarf. Single match tickets go on sale this Friday, February 9 at 10 a.m. PT.
For more information on Whitecaps FC ticket options, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
SCORING SUMMARY
32’ – VAN – Tim Parker (Cristian Techera)
40’ – VAN – Kei Kamara (Brek Shea)
44’ – VAN – Tim Parker (Nicolas Mezquida)
90’ + 1’ – VAN – Bernie Ibini (Alphonso Davies, Simon Colyn)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
First half:
1.Stefan Marinovic; 30.Mark Bloom, 4.Kendall Waston, 26.Tim Parker, 25.Justin Fiddes^; 6.Efrain Juarez, 31.Russell Teibert; 13.Cristian Techera, 11.Nicolas Mezquida, 20.Brek Shea; 23.Kei Kamara
Second half:
12.Brian Rowe; 15.Sean Franklin, 17.Marcel de Jong, 42.David Norman Jr.; 27.Lucas Stauffer^, 16.Tony Tchani, 66.Aly Ghazal, 67.Alphonso Davies; 24.Yohan Mollo; 7.Bernie Ibini, 45.Myer Bevan (54.Simon Colyn# 78’)
Training camp invitee
^ Unsigned SuperDraft selection
# Whitecaps FC Residency player
