Following their Saturday matches against Cal Odyssey, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams continued their busy weekend against San Jose Earthquakes Academy at Mustang Soccer Complex.
The U-18s captured a 3-0 win, while the U-16s suffered a 3-2 defeat.
Both teams will now return home to face LA Galaxy Academy and Chivas USA Academy squads on Saturday February 16 and Sunday February 17 respectively.
U-18
Whitecaps FC (8W-5L-1D) faced a difficult challenge against the top-seeded San Jose Earthquakes, but they managed to secure a confident 3-0 win.
On 15 minutes, Brody Huitema scored on a beautiful cross from Sam Adekugbe, putting the ‘Caps up 1-0.
Continuing his dominant play, Huitema scored his second goal of the game on 47 minutes. This time, it was Matthew van de Eyden providing the cross.
Late in the second half, Kianz Froese carried the ball on a solo run and netted another goal for the ‘Caps, giving the Blue and White a 3-0 lead, which they held until the final whistle.
San Jose came close to scoring when they were awarded a penalty kick on 85 minutes, but Sean Melvin was able to prevent a goal and sealed his shutout with the save.
Head of high performance Stuart Neely was very impressed with the cohesive play of the U-18 squad.
“I think overall, it was a positive performance from the boys. They started out well, came out well organized, and were confident,” said Neely.
“They carried the play against a very strong San Jose team and they found ways to break them down. San Jose could have scored at any time. They’re a good team. Today, we got the upper hand on them.”
Whitecaps FC U-18 lineup:
Sean Melvin, Matthew van der Eyden, Jackson Farmer, Nicholas Prasad, Sam Adekugbe, Mitch Piraux, Marco Bustos (74 Sebastian Cabrera), Kianz Froese (78 Liam Elbourne), Carlos Marquez (40 Spencer Deboice), Brody Huitema, Yassin Essa (70 Titouan Chopin)
U-16
Whitecaps FC U-16s (6W-6L-2D) played a hard, back-and-forth match, but could not manage to secure a win against a solid San Jose Earthquakes squad.
Very quickly, San Jose scored to give the Earthquakes an early lead. It was the start of a back-and-forth exchange between the teams that continued for the length of the match.
On 25 minutes, Matthew Chow scored a great goal on a beautiful corner to tie the game at one.
A minute into the second half, San Jose scored to take their second lead of the match. However, the ‘Caps would not be deterred.
On the 65-minute mark, Aymar Sigue scored for the Blue and White to once again tie the match. However, the lead was quickly erased 13 minutes later when San Jose netted their third goal of the match to take the lead. San Jose was able to hold onto the lead until the final whistle, resulting in a 3-2 defeat.
Despite the loss, coach Craig Dalrymple believed there were positives gained from the match.
“There were a lot of positives from the match. The players took in the pre-game objectives and we hit on most of them today,” said Dalrymple.
“There were a few mistakes we made that we were punished on, but we can’t highlight the mistakes, as mistakes always happen with a young squad. That’s what developing is all about.”
Whitecaps FC U-16 lineup:
Marco Carducci, Matthew Baldisimo, Vagelli Boucas (50 Matteo Bordignon), Alex Comsia, Jordan Haynes, Eric De Graff, Matthew Chow (70 David Norman), Tommy Gardner, Francesco Saporito (60 Joshua Cuthbert), Terran Campbell (65 Cole Morokhovich, Dario Zanatta (50 Aymar Sigue)
