After playing matches in Oregon and California, this weekend marks the first time Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency will take the field on home soil in over a month. The ‘Caps will face Northwest Division rivals De Anza Force and Santa Cruz Breakers Academy at Simon Fraser University’s Field 4 as they look to continue their hot start to the 2014-15 United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season.
The Blue and White will open up their weekend with a pair of contests against De Anza on Saturday, October 25. The U-18s will kick off at 10:00 a.m. PT, while the U-16s are set to start at 12:30 p.m. PT. The ‘Caps will turn their focus to Santa Cruz on Sunday, October 26. Again, the U-18s are scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. PT start, and the U-16s will get underway at 12:30 p.m. PT.
U-18
Already in the midst of the best start in the side’s USSDA history, Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency (7W-0L-0D) are looking extend their lead atop both the Northwest Division and USSDA.
It’s not just that the ‘Caps are winning matches, but it’s how they’re doing it. At 25 goals, the U-18s have the largest goal differential in USSDA, and if the last weekend is any indication, they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
Last Saturday, the ‘Caps started off with a solid 3-2 win over Real So Cal U-18, who were leading the Southwest Division at the time of the contest. Two Winnipeg, Manitoba natives led the way, as skipper Marco Bustos potted two goals, and Ali Musse added the other in the win.
Sunday’s match with Arsenal FC U-18 was relatively even early on, as the two sides went into the break tied up 1-1. In the second half, the ‘Caps demonstrated why they’re ranked at the top of the league, exploding for five goals en route to a 6-1 win. Dario Zanatta and Jordan Haynes each picked up a brace in the rout, while Musse and Bustos each added to their high-scoring weekends with a goal apiece.
Whitecaps FC will need that explosiveness against a De Anza Force U-18 (4W-1L-0D) side that hasn’t allowed a goal against over the past two matches, with only five shots getting past their keeper all season. The stout De Anza defence has them third in the competitive Northwest Division, and with the seventh highest points-per-games-played mark of any team in USSDA.
Santa Cruz Breakers Academy U-18 (1W-3L-2D) have gotten off to a rough start early in the new season, as their solitary win has them seventh in the nine-team Northwest Division. For Santa Cruz, the majority of the struggles have come on the offensive end, as the club has only mustered four goals through six games, getting shut out three times in the process.
For head coach Niall Thompson, his U-18 side’s performance has always been more important than the results, and he’s looking for a high level of performance against a couple of dangerous clubs this weekend.
“We can’t get complacent just because we’ve gotten a few results early on. We need to keep up the intensity that we’ve played with so far, no matter the opponent, or how we’re doing," Thompson told whitecapsfc.com. "We have a history with De Anza – we know that they’re an excellent run soccer club, they’re right behind us in the standings, and we’re expecting a real tough test this weekend. Santa Cruz haven’t had the best results this year, but we can’t take any team lightly. They’re a competitive side, and we’ll need to be at our best.”
U-16
Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency (5W-1L-1D) are looking to get back into the win column after suffering their first defeat of the young season last Sunday against Arsenal FC U-16.
Despite their most recent result, the ‘Caps are still in a fantastic spot after a hot start to the campaign. Sitting at second place in the Nothwest Division, the Blue and White are also in eleventh overall in the USSDA rankings, well within a playoff spot if the post-season was to start today.
To earn their fifth win of the season last Saturday, the U-16 side took down Real So Cal U-16 by a score of 4-1. After Tommy Gardner and Terran Campbell got the ‘Caps in front with first-half goals, Duwayne Ewart sealed the result with a second-half brace.
The weekend’s second contest proved more difficult as, despite a valiant effort, the ‘Caps couldn’t overcome a 20th-minute Arsenal FC goal, and they fell 1-0.
The U-16s will look to distance themselves from some direct competition this Saturday, as De Anza Force U-16 (5W-2L-1D) are slotted directly behind them at third in the Northwest Division. So far this season, De Anza’s attack has been hit-or-miss. While they have scored one goal or less in three of their five games this season, they’ve also scored five goals in each of the other two contests.
Like their U-18 counterparts, Santa Cruz Breakers Academy U-16 (1W-4L-1D) have gotten out of the gate slowly this year. Three games under the .500 mark just six matches into the season, Santa Cruz is seventh in the Northwest Division. On average, Santa Cruz are getting outscored by more than a four-to-one margin per contest. Santa Cruz has only scored more than one goal in a game on one occasion this season (a 3-3 draw with Juventus Sport Club U-16) and, similarly, have only allowed less than three goals against once (a 1-0 win over San Juan Soccer Club U-16).
Talking about this weekend’s games, head coach Rich Fagan echoes Thompson – neither De Anza or Santa Cruz will be underestimated.
“De Anza is always a tough game,” Fagan said. “They work extremely hard and are very aggressive. The staff and players look forward to the match up. When it comes to Santa Cruz, they may have had a poor start, but that can often be a dangerous thing. We will not take them lightly - we will prepare for them as we would any opponent. A strong performance and maximum effort is the minimum expected every weekend.”
Residency on the Rise
Five Whitecaps FC Pre-Residency players, goalkeeper Trevor Schenider (Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC), defender Brandon Bassi (Coastal FC), midfielders Alessandro Hojabrpour (Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC) and Gabriel Escobar, and striker Sahil Dhindsa (Coastal FC), were named to a U-15 national talent identification camp that ran this week. In addition, U-16 midfielder Michael Baldisimo was also named to the squad. All six players are BC-born, while four of the six players came through the BC Soccer Premier League (former club in brackets).
