VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams will continue their United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) seasons this weekend as they host De Anza Force and Santa Cruz Breakers at UBC’s Varsity Field.
Gordon Forrest’s U-18 team still remain on top of the West Conference, Northwest Division standings with a record of 15W-6L-2D going into this busy weekend of action. The Force find themselves in third place in the West Conference, Northwest Division with a record of 13W-8L-4D, while the Breakers are sitting in seventh place with a record of 6W-13L-7D. Kickoff against De Anza Force is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, while kickoff against Santa Cruz Breakers is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 5. Both matches are at UBC's Varsity Field.
Craig Dalrymple’s U-16s will hope to improve upon their sixth place position in the West Conference, Northwest Division, with a record of 6W-14L-3D going into this weekend’s matches. De Anza Force are currently at the top of the table in the West Conference, Northwest Division, boasting an impressive record of 16W-3L-6D, while Santa Cruz Breakers are currently in eighth place in the same division with a record of 5W-15L-6D. Kickoff against the Force is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, while kickoff against the Breakers is set for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
U-18
The U-18s will be looking to continue their winning ways, having won six matches in a row while defending their position as the top team in their division. The Blue and White are coming off of a 2-1 win against San Juan SC U-18 on Saturday, April 21. Goals for the ‘Caps came from Spencer Deboice and Marco Bustos.
With a difficult weekend ahead, Forrest believes playing at home will be of great beenfit to his young team and fans alike.
“It’s great to have a full weekend of games for the guys," said Forrest. "Obviously, playing at home is fantastic for the boys and great for the fans who want to come watch. We’ve got two very difficult games again, but all games are difficult in this league. There are not any easy games. We’ve also got a few fresh guys drawing in, coming back from international duty, so it should be good.”
U-16
Meanwhile, the U-16s will be looking to rebound following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of San Juan SC U-16 in their last USSDA match.
Despite some tough results, Dalrymple has been encouraged by the performances of his young group and will be using the remainder of the season to groom his troops.
“We’re going towards the tail end of our season and we’ve played young all year, continuing to look at younger players in our system. We’ve promoted several of our players to the U-18s and we’ve been grooming a lot of our younger players into the U-16 system. We’re going to use the remainder of the season to introduce the younger players to a higher level.”
