BRADENTON, FL – On a day where both the U-16s and U-18s were in action, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency came away undefeated against two highly-ranked opponents Sunday on the second day of the USSDA Winter Showcase.
U-16
In the morning match, Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency (9W-1L-2D) dominated Colorado Rush U-16 (5W-2L-0D) to the tune of a 7-0 rout in their first match of the competition. Remarkably, Colorado came into the match having allowed only three goals in six games all season, meaning that the ‘Caps more than doubled that total in a single contest.
Terran Campbell and Cole Morokhovich each notched braces, while Nick Apostol, Daniel Sagno, and Noah Verhoeven netted singles in the blowout.
The scoring started early for the ‘Caps, as Campbell drew first blood at the seven minute mark, taking a ball from Kadin Chung and beating the Rush keeper.
Not satisfied with a 1-0 lead, Apostol added another in the 21st minute, putting the ‘Caps up by two.
Before the first half was out, the Blue and White struck again. Sagno, playing up top, found the back of the net on a nice finish at 40 minutes, giving the ‘Caps breathing room going into halftime.
The Blue and White poured it on after the break, seemingly scoring at will.
Campbell added another in the 55th minute before Morokohovich buried two quick ones just eight minutes apart. Verhoeven capped the onslaught with a goal in the 80th minute.
As eye-catching as the offensive dominance was, head coach Rich Fagan was just as impressed with the overall performance that facilitated the attack.
"It was great to score goals, but we were also very good defensively,” Fagan told whitecapsfc.com. “Good focus, detailed communication, brave defending and timely saves allowed the attack minded players to take more risks and it paid off."
The U-16s will play their second match of the showcase on Monday against New York Red Bulls U-16.
Scoring Summary
7’ – VAN – Terran Campbell (Kadin Chung)
21’ – VAN – Nick Apostol
40’ – VAN – Daniel Sagno
55’ – VAN – Terran Campbell
61’ – VAN – Cole Morokhovich
69’ – VAN – Cole Morokhovich
80’ – VAN – Noah Verhoeven
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
30.Aidan Aylward; 32.Kadin Chung, 40.Brendan Skinner (31.Frazer Poulter 50’ ), 4.Matthew Baldisimo (37.Jonas Hakkinen 68’), 48.Terrell Smith; 28.Thomas Gardner (38.Noah Verhoeven 60’), 13.David Norman (45.Munir Saleh 50’); 14.Terran Campbell, 37.Nick Apostol (33.Michael Baldisimo 60’), 36.Cole Morokhovich; 27.Daniel Sagno
U-18
Looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency (11W-1L-1D) fought to a 3-3 draw with New York Red Bulls U-18 (9W-0L-3D) in the day’s evening match.
Defender Jordan Haynes, striker Dario Zanatta, and attacking midfielder Marco Bustos scored for the Blue and White, as they stormed back from an early two-goal deficit and earned a point against a top-tier opponent.
New York came out like gangbusters in the first half, and were up 2-0 at 12 minutes. However, the ‘Caps pushed and got the next one thanks to a terrific individual effort from Haynes. The defender took the ball down the right flank, curled along the top of the New York area, and fired a left-footed strike to the top corner.
Zanatta equalized just under 10 minutes later, as he used his speed to earn a breakaway closing in on the half. The striker made no mistake, putting the ‘Caps on even terms and giving them all kinds of momentum.
The young striker kept it going in the second half, as his hard running in the Red Bulls 18-yard box forced a defender to haul him down in the 62nd minute. Bustos buried the ensuing penalty to give Vancouver their first lead of the contest.
Armed with the lead, Vancouver had several chances, including a couple of missed breakaways and a post, but couldn’t capitalize.
It ended up costing them. At the tail end of stoppage time, New York’s keeper, who had rushed out of his goal, scored off of a corner and knotted it up.
Despite the disappointing finish, assistant coach Steve Meadley couldn’t have been more pleased with the performance of his players.
“I’m really proud of how the boys bounced back from the performance yesterday,” Meadley told whitecapsfc.com. “Today was for them to redeem themselves on the field, and they absolutely did. We were very happy with the work rate today, and you know, we’ve faced the other top two clubs in North America in the past couple days, and performance wise, we’re very happy with where we’re sitting as a team right now.”
The U-18s conclude the USSDA Winter Showcase on Tuesday against Players Development Academy.
Scoring Summary
7’ – NYRB –
12’ – NYRB –
33’ – VAN – Jordan Haynes
42’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta
62’ – VAN – Marco Bustos (penalty kick)
90+’ – NYRB –
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
1.Marco Carducci; 11. Jordan Haynes, 5.Vaggeli Boucas, 2.Andre Baires, 17.Jeevin Kang (39.Josh Cuthbert 54’); 15.Drake Rendle (24.Vana Markarian 60’), 19.Kianz Froese; 8.Ali Musse (23.Francesco Sporito 90’), 10.Marco Bustos 41.Duwayne Ewart (20.Kyle Jones 60’); 9.Dario Zanatta
