VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18 and U-16 Residency sides continued their spotless start to the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season with two more impressive victories over Pateadores to improve their records to 4W-0L-0D.
It was the first time the boys in Blue and White had the chance to play on home soil, defending home turf at UBC Dhillon Field valiantly with a 1-0 win for the U-18’s and a 2-0 win for the U-16’s.
U-18
Gordon Forrest’s side came out strong right out of the gates, threatening to score twice within the first 10 minutes of the match; the Pats’ goalkeeper came up huge on both occasions to keep the scoreline even.
After the alarming start, the Pats sat back a bit, allowing the ‘Caps to come at them. The homeside had spells of great possession but the away side was resilient to keep their shape, denying the Blue and White the opportunity to get a clean shot away.
The breakthrough for Whitecaps FC came in the 72nd minute, when Matthew Chow played in Mason James at the top of the box; James’ controlled the pass with a perfect first touch before chipping the 'keeper from 15 yards out.
Forrest told whitecapsfc.com that he was satisfied with his team's effort and performance.
“It was a very even game, but it wasn’t up to our usual standards,” the manager said. “We set quite high standards what we want to achieve and in terms of our performance. We had some good spells within the game and it was certainly not our best performance but I certainly appreciate the effort from the boys today."
Scoring Summary
72’- VAN – Mason James
Vancouver Whitecaps U-18 Residency
Marco Carducci; Mark Baldisimo (Vaggeli Boucas 60’), Jackson Farmer, Nicholas Prasad, Sam Adekugbe; Mitch Piraux, Marco Bustos, Jordan Haynes (Mason James 67); Matthew Chow(Nike Azuma 82’), Kianz Froese, Titouan Chopin (Kyle Jones 46’).
U-16
It was another tremendous defensive performance that saw the U-16s extend their shutout, and winning streak to four consecutive games. Rich Fagan’s side was able to keep a clean sheet in front of Luciano Trasolini despite playing with 10 men for the last 20 minutes of the match.
In the first half, Aymar Sigue had two moments of individual brilliance spurned by the Pats’ goalkeeper, the striker had been in tremendous form to start the season, but will have to wait another day to add to his tally of five goals in four matches.
Terran Campbell found his first of two goals on the afternoon on 51 minutes: the Burnaby product received great service from Thomas Gardner, before coolly slotting it past the 'keeper to open the scoring.
In the 70th minute, Matthew Baldisimo was sent off for his second yellow card of the match, however the Blue and White weren’t about to let the numbers disadvantage ruin their afternoon.
After a brief spell of resolute defending, the ‘Caps found the goal that put them out of sight on 78 minutes. Substitute Joshua Cuthbert found himself with a bit of room of the left flank deep inside the Pats’ third, before crossing it into an open Campbell, who was eager to double his tally.
"I'm so pleased with the overall effort and performance," said Rich Fagan, head coach of the U-16s. "The players work so hard for each other, it's outstanding."
The Residency squads are back in action tomorrow afternoon versus Strikers FC at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington. The U-18s kick things off at 11 a.m. PT, before the U-16s take the field at 2:30 p.m. PT.
Scoring Summary
51’ – VAN – Terran Campbell (Thomas Gardner)
78’ – VAN – Terran Campbell (Joshua Cuthbert)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency
Luciano Trasolini; John Kasper, Matthew Baldisimo, Eric de Graaf, Kadin Chung (Joshua Cuthbert 70’);David Norman (Francesco Saporito 58’), Jeevin Kang, Thomas Gardner (Patrick Izett 65’); Aymar Sigue (Cole Morokhovich 70’), Dario Zanatta, Terran Campbell.
