BEAVERTON, OR – Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams sealed impressive victories against Northwest Division rivals Portland Timbers to conclude their fifth straight matches away from home in the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA)
U-18
Coming off a tough toad trip in California, Whitecaps FC U-18s responded with a strong performance against Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers to earn a 3-0 victory.
The ‘Caps came out firing. On six minutes the team’s leading scorer Kianz Froese added to his tally with his seventh goal of the USSDA season. The squad displayed their dominance on the field as a cohesive unit as they kept consistent pressure on the ball.
The ‘Caps defence held the Timbers scoreless, as Chris Serban, a newly acquired defender made his debut for Whitecaps FC. Despite numerous chances from the ‘Caps, the first half came to a close at 1-0.
“We could have been up certainly more than one,” U-18 assistant coach Steve Meadley told whitecapsfc.com. “[At halftime] we spoke to them about maintaining their focus, going out there and being ruthless and taking this game.”
Heeding the words at halftime, the squad once again displayed a strong performance and continued their relentless pressure. Froese found the back of the net for a second time, increasing his season total to eight. Late substitute Hayden Simmonds-O’Grady, who came in for Froese on the 68th minute, made his presence felt as he added one last goal for good measure to round out a 3-0 victory. Nolan Wirth collected the clean sheet in net.
“We're really happy with their work rate today, their commitment to the cause, and what they were asked to do,” Meadley told whitecapsfc.com. “It was absolutely tremendous. It was an absolute squad performance today. Everyone contributed.”
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18
1. Nolan Wirth; Chris Serban, 15. Vaggeli Boucas, 5. Nicholas Prasad, 12. Nike Azuma; 11. Jordan Haynes, 4. Mark Baldisimo (20. Kyle Jones 58’), 8. Matthew Chow; 21. Ali Musse, 7. Titouan Chopin; 19. Kianz Froese (Hayden Simmonds-O’Grady 68’)
Scoring Summary
6 ’ – VAN – Kianz Froese
62’ – VAN – Kianz Froese
88’ – VAN – Hayden Simmonds-O’Grady
U-16
The 'Caps U-16s made it two for two on Saturday as they earned a 3-1 win over their Timbers counterparts.
After the first 15 minutes, the Blue and Whitebegan controlling the pace of the game. The squad dominated the last 30 minutes of the first half as Thomas Gardener scored his fifth goal of the year in the 25th minute, putting the ‘Caps up 1-0.
The ‘Caps continued the pressure for much of the second half, creating multiple chances, but Portland managed to find an equalizer after converting a free kick in the 56th minute.
But the visitors would not be undone. Leading scorer Dario Zanatta scored twice in the second half, increasing his goal out put to 11 for the season, leading the U-16s to a 3-1 victory.
“We really controlled the momentum of the game,” U-16 head coach Rich Fagan told whitecapsfc.com. “We were quite strong and quite comfortable. Great overall performance from the team.”
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
30. Aidan Aylward; 39. Joshua Cuthbert (35. John Kasper 65’), 34. Eric de Graff, 2. Andre Baires, 32. Kadin Chung; 13. David Norman, 37. Jeevin Kang (51. Manraj Bains 60’); 28 Thomas Gardener (50. Patrick Izett 60’), 41. Terran Campbell (43. Daniel Sagno 65’), 23. Francesco Saporito; 9. Dario Zanatta
Scoring Summary
25’ – VAN – Thomas Gardener
50’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta
56’ – POR – free kick
70’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta
