Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 (0W-3L-3D) start a busy week on Tuesday when they travel across the border to face Washington Crossfire (1W-0L-2D) in their fifth road match of their 2014 United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT at Redmond High School.
The ‘Caps face a short turnaround after playing last Friday against Cascadia rivals Sounders FC U-23. Following Tuesday’s match, the Blue and White host Portland Timbers U-23 on Friday at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium before travelling to Alberta on Sunday for a special friendly match versus Calgary Foothills FC U-23.
WHITECAPS FC U-23
Whitecaps FC U-23 faced their toughest result of the season on Friday when they fell 3-0 to cross-border rivals Sounders FC U-23 at Curtis High School in University Place, Washington.
Though the Blue and White have yet to taste victory so far this season, the young players on the squad continue to progress.
“We maintain our philosophy every time we play, and that is the development of our players,” Whitecaps FC U-23 assistant coach Steve Meadley told whitecapsfc.com. “That is our first priority. Many of our young players have seen a rapid growth. We look forward to a busy week to bounce back.”
WASHINGTON CROSSFIRE
Washington Crossfire stand on stable ground with no losses up until now. The Crossfire earned their first win of the season on Sunday when they beat Victoria Highlanders FC 2-0 at home.
The match was the second of back-to-back encounters between the Crossfire and Highlanders, with the first match ending in a 1-1 draw in Victoria. The rematch began slow and steady as it arrived to halftime. But the crowd at Redmond High School saw the home team receive second half goals from Hamza Haddadi and Christian Roldan to secure the victory.
“We expect nothing different from Crossfire than what we saw already in the past week, and that is a very physical encounter,” Meadley told whitecapsfc.com. “But we will go there looking to play our game and get better at it. If we play our game, then the results will start to come.”
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last time the ‘Caps and Crossfire battled on the field was in the last match of the 2013 PDL regular season, when Whitecaps FC hosted Washington at Thunderbird Stadium. Canadian striker Niall Cousens managed to get the only goal of the afternoon for the ‘Caps – his team-leading seventh goal of the 2013 season.
COMING UP NEXT
Whitecaps FC U-23 have a busy week in store. On Friday they host Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers U-23 at 7 p.m. PT at UBC Thunderbird Stadium. Then on Sunday, they travel to Calgary for a special friendly match with Calgary Foothills FC U-23.
