BRADENTON, FL - Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency (9W-1L-4D) finished up their United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) Winter Showcase schedule with a 3-3 draw against Montreal Impact U-16 (4W-5L-4D) on Wednesday morning.
Midfielder Noah Verhoeven opened the scoring for the ‘Caps, and striker Daniel Sagno bagged a brace in the draw. With the result, the ‘Caps finish up their showcase with an unbeaten 1W-0L-2D record.
Verhoeven drew first blood at the 19-minute mark, as he collected the ball off the left flank, powered into the Montreal 18-yard box, and fired a perfect strike past the Impact goalkeeper.
Montreal equalized just six minutes later, as Impact forward Gabriel Balbinotti found the back of the net after a terrific through ball from midfielder Esleyder Luarca.
The two teams went into the break tied at 1-1, but that didn’t last for long.
The ‘Caps came out of the break determined to break the deadlock quickly. In the 46th minute, winger Cole Morokhovich drove down the right flank and placed a cross into the box. Sagno beat his man to the spot and guided the ball into the Impact goal to make it 2-1.
Sagno struck again shortly later, as Tommy Gardner found him with a precise pass that put him one-on-one with the goalkeeper before Sagno finished with no problems.
Montreal’s comeback started with just six minutes left in the contest, as defender Mohammed Toure beat Luciano Trasolini to put the Impact within one.
In the 78th minute, the Impact completed the comeback off a goal by forward Don Junior Bobe, and the final whistle blew with that same 3-3 score.
"Once again, I am proud of the players for their effort and performance,” U-16 head coach Rich Fagan told whitecapsfc.com. "Today was our third game in five days, and the boys emptied their tanks while maintaining their performance standards. All in all, it has been a positive week."
Scoring Summary
19’ – VAN – Noah Verhoeven
25’ – MON – Gabriel Balbinotti (Esleyder Luarca)
46’ – VAN – Daniel Sagno (Cole Morokhovich)
63’ – VAN – Daniel Sagno (Thomas Gardner)
74’ – MON – Mohammed Toure
78’ – MON – Don Junior Bobe
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
42.Luciano Trasolini; 32.Kadin Chung, 31.Frazer Poulter, 47.Jonas Hakkinen (40.Brendan Skinner 75’), 48.Terrell Smith (52.Gabriel Escobar 60’); 45.Munir Saleh, 13.David Norman; 36.Cole Morokhovich (37.Nick Apostol 60’), 28.Thomas Gardner, 38.Noah Verhoeven (51.Ali Zohar 70’); 27.Daniel Sagno
