MORAGA, CA – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 fell to a 2-0 defeat against The Town FC on Sunday night at Saint Mary's Stadium in Moraga, California.
With Sunday's result, The Town FC (8W-6L-7D) are now level on 34 points with the young ’Caps (9W-7L-5D) in the race for a spot in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs.
Moments after kickoff, TTFC went up one goal to the good courtesy of 20-year-old midfielder Will Richmond’s sprint into open space. His chipped cross from the edge of the box flashed across goal to a wide-open Aaron Edwards, who cracked a one-timer past Whitecaps FC 2 goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer.
Boehmer made amends ten minutes later, as he raced across his line to deny an Edwards header from in close.
WFC2’s best chance came at the quarter hour from hard-charging Giuseppe Bovalina. The 19-year-old Australian galloped down the right wing and smashed a dangerous 20-yard attempt that curled just two yards over the crossbar.
At the other end, Richmond and Edwards teamed up again in the 31st minute. On a give-and-go similar to their first goal, Edwards’ first strike was bravely cleared off the goal line by WFC2 wingback Mihail Gherasimencov. However, the deflected ball fell directly to Edwards, who cooly converted his own rebound for a brace and the 2-0 lead.
After play restarted in the second half, Gherasimencov – almost on the touch line – put a cheeky kick that spun inches away from glory as both teammate Liam Mackenzie’s boot and goalkeeper Ochoa’s gloves missed the ball.
Boehmer also pitched in to keep the match close. After an errant cross bounced off of WFC2 defender Immanuel Mathe’s right arm, the goalkeeper alertly dove to his right to paw away a Cruz Medina penalty kick.
An hour in, WFC2’s goal-scoring leader Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, with eight finishes in 2024, subbed in to give the ’Caps a spark.
Unfortunately, The Town FC’s smothering defenders were able to hold Chateau and the young 'Caps off for a clean sheet.
Next up on the docket for WFC2 is the first of five consecutive home matches at Swangard Stadium, as they square off against LAFC 2 on Sunday, August 25 at 4 p.m. PT. To cheer on the young 'Caps at Swangard in their race for the MLS NEXT Pro Cup Playoffs, visit www.whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Corbyn May
Scoring Summary
1’ – TTFC – Aaron Edwards (Will Richmond)
31’ – TTFC – Aaron Edwards
Cautions
16’ – VAN – Immanuel Mathe
28’ – TTFC – Beau Leroux
77’ – TTFC – Riley Lynch
87’ – TTFC – Alejandro Cano
90’ – VAN – Mihail Gherasimencov
90’ + 3 – VAN – Jay Herdman
Statistics
Shots: TTFC 12 – VAN 6
Shots on target: TTFC 8 – VAN 2
Fouls: TTFC 15 – VAN 11
Offsides: TTFC 1 – VAN 3
Corners: TTFC 5 – VAN 2
The Town FC
41.Emmanuel Ochoa; 33.Oscar Verhoeven (45.Wilson Eisner 82’), 66.Alejandro Cano, 77.Casey Walls, 72.Ricardo Ibarra; 64.Beau Leroux (78.Joel Garcia 82’), 38.Edwyn Mendoza (58.Rohan Rajagopal 90’ + 1), 99.Cruz Medina (52.Julian Donnery 70’); 50.Aaron Edwards (71.Riley Lynch 70’), 60.Eduardo Blancas, 20.Will Richmond
Substitutes not used
51.David Sweeney, 53.Cade Cowell, 54.Jermaine Spivey, 63.Sean Bilter
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
32.Isaac Boehmer; 56.Immanuel Mathe (49.Malek Mehri 71’), 95.Joshué Ndakala, 83.Finn Linder; 27.Giuseppe Bovalina, 59.Jeevan Badwal, 48.Malcolm Simmons (55.Cyprian Kachwele 85’), 92.Jay Herdman ©, 54.Mihail Gherasimencov; 97.Liam Mackenzie (52.Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau 60’), 44.Myles Morgan (43.Antoine Coupland 71’)
Substitutes not used
90.Alexander Milošević, 46.Darko Ilić
