TUKWILA, WA – Whitecaps FC 2 battled hard but fell just short in their latest encounter with Cascadia rivals Tacoma Defiance, falling 2-1 on the road at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington on Sunday afternoon.
WFC2 got on the board early, as Kamron Habibullah whipped an in-swinging corner kick into the box that was directed into the goal by Tacoma Defiance goalkeeper Jacob Castro, giving the young 'Caps the 1-0 advantage on the road.
In the 28th minute, the young 'Caps would continue to threaten the Tacoma backline, as Habibullah unleashed a powerful right-footed strike from distance and forced Castro to parry the shot out for a corner.
Seconds later, Castro once again came up big for the home side, tipping away a header from Antoine Coupland.
WFC2 had another great chance a minute later, with Giovanni Aguilar heading the ball across the box for Finn Linder, but the New Zealand U-20 international's chested effort was cleared right off the goal line by Castro to keep the score at 1-0.
In the 37th minute, Tacoma would find their equalizer as Paul Rothrock's cross was deflected into the WFC2 net for an own goal.
Fast forward to the second half, the home side took the lead through substitute Raul Miglietti tapped in a low cross from Travian Sousa to give his side the 2-1 lead.
Miglietti came close to finding his brace in the 82nd minute, as he put his back-heeled attempt from close range just wide of the goal.
The young 'Caps pushed on for the equalizer, with substitute Darko Ilić coming the closest to tying the match but Tacoma would see out the rest of the match to claim the three points.
Next up, WFC2 continue their road swing on Saturday, August 5 as they face Western Conference leaders Colorado Rapids 2 at University of Denver Soccer Stadium in Denver, Colorado. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT. You can catch the match live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Karen Callado
Scoring Summary
4’ – VAN – Jacob Castro (OG)
37' – TAC – Finn Linder (OG)
70' – TAC – Raul Miglietti (Travian Sousa)
Statistics
Possession: TAC 60.3% - VAN 39.7%
Shots: TAC 14 - VAN 19
Shots on Goal: TAC 3 - VAN 9
Saves: TAC 9 - VAN 2
Fouls: TAC 10 - VAN 11
Offsides: TAC 3 - VAN 0
Corners: TAC 9 - VAN 6
Cautions
9’ – VAN – Giovanni Aguilar
57’ – TAC – Sota Kitahara
59’ – VAN – Mihail Gherasimencov
Tacoma Defiance
29.Jacob Castro; 32.Hal Uderitz, 39.Stuart Hawkins, 83.Elias Katsaros; 96.Blake Bowen, 77.Sota Kitahara, 34.Frank Daroma, 72.Braudílio Rodrigues (97.Juan Alvarez 65'), 31.Travian Sousa; 93.Georgi Minoungou, 35.Paul Rothrock (81.Raul Miglietti 69')
Substitutes not used
36.Wallis Lapsley, 38.Eythor Bjørgolfsson, 78.Pedro Karalkovas, 80.Chris Aquino
Whitecaps FC 2
50.Max Anchor; 57.Elage Bah (46.Darko Ilić 85'), 95.Joshué Ndakala, 83.Finn Linder, 54.Mihail Gherasimencov; 30.Kamron Habibullah, 66.Giovanni Aguilar ©️, 84.Christian Greco-Taylor; 43.Antoine Coupland, 42.Lowell Wright, 44.Gloire Amanda (76.Joe Hanson 77')
Substitutes not used
70.Max Campeau, 41.Malcolm Johnston, 53.Simone Masi, 56.Lucas Dasovic, 59.Jeevan Badwal
