BRADENTON, FL - Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency (11W-1L-2D) capped off their showing at the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) Winter Showcase with a 3-3 draw against defending USSDA U-18 champions Players Development Academy (7W-2L-6D) on Tuesday morning.
It was an all-too-familiar ending for the ‘Caps, as for the second straight match, the opposition equalized at the death.
On the offensive front, skipper Marco Bustos bagged a brace, and striker Dario Zanatta added a goal of his own. In goal, William Diaz made some key stops, including a diving save on a penalty kick just before halftime.
The ‘Caps got a break early on in the contest, as defender Jordan Haynes made a dangerous run into the PDA box. Haynes’ run forced a PDA defender to slide, where his hand made contact with the ball. Bustos stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty kick, blasting it to the right side of the keeper and putting the ‘Caps up 1-0.
PDA responded quickly, evening up the score just three minutes later, before Zanatta put the ‘Caps up 2-1 at the 31 minute mark. The goal came through another run into the PDA box from an active Haynes as he delivered the ball to the Victoria, BC-born striker, who made no mistake from in close.
Haynes was involved in another hand ball with three minutes left in the first half. This time, it was Haynes that was hit on his hand, after a long Players Development Academy shot attempt ricocheted around the Vancouver area.
On the ensuing penalty, Diaz made his mark on the contest, diving to his right and stopping the shot, keeping the ‘Caps in the lead heading into the break.
At 62 minutes, Bustos got his second of the contest, weaving his way through the PDA defence and finding space on the left side. He fired it to the near post, putting the ‘Caps up by two.
PDA got another goal back at 75 minutes, setting up the dramatic finish.
As stoppage time was winding down, a PDA cross found its way through the ‘Caps box and onto the foot of a waiting attacker. Diaz had no chance, as the goal put the score level just before the final whistle.
Looking at the overall performance of the squad at the showcase, assistant coach Steve Meadley believes it bodes well for the U-18s going forward.
“Despite the frustration of the results, we found that these three games have been excellent learning opportunities for both us and the boys,” said Meadley. “Against good, quality opponents in Montreal, New York, and PDA, who were last year’s champions, we believe our boys have shown that we really are one of the best teams in North America. We feel that way, by the way we’ve played and the way we’ve carried ourselves this week.”
Now on break for the rest of the holiday season, the U-18 side will return to action with a match against Strikers FC U-18 on January 17, 2015.
Scoring Summary
12’ – VAN – Marco Bustos (penalty kick)
15’ – PDA –
31’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta (Jordan Haynes)
62’ – VAN – Marco Bustos
75’ – PDA –
90+5’ – PDA –
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
18.William Diaz; 39.Josh Cuthbert (17.Jeevin Kang 65’), 2.Andre Baires, 5.Vaggeli Boucas, 11. Jordan Haynes; 19.Kianz Froese, 24.Vana Markarian; 8.Ali Musse (23.Francesco Sporito 85’), 10.Marco Bustos, 41.Duwayne Ewart (14.Terran Campbell 57’); 9.Dario Zanatta (20.Kyle Jones 65’)
