SAINT LOUIS, MO – Whitecaps FC 2 captured their fourth consecutive win on Saturday thanks to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Saint Louis CITY2 at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
CITY2 would open the scoring in the 18th minute of the match, as a deflected cross from left back Kwame Awuah found forward Josh Dolling to head the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to give the home side an early 1-0 lead.
WFC2 pushed on for the equalizer in the later stages of the first half as midfielder Giovanni Aguilar’s footwork inside the box led to an opportunity from forward Simon Becher, who’s shot was blocked by the St. Louis backline in the 42nd minute.
In the 69th minute, WFC2 goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer was forced into a strong save as he denied CITY2 midfielder Vitor Dias from extending the home side's lead.
As the young ‘Caps pushed forward in the second half, Becher flicked on a lofted ball from wingback Ali Ahmed into the path of substitute Owen Antoniuk, who calmly tucked home his third goal of the season past St. Louis goalkeeper Michael Creek to tie the match in the 76th minute.
Just nine minutes later, forward Emiliano Brienza won a set piece right outside the box. The product of Coquitlam, BC then converted the ensuing free kick with a powerful, curling shot into the top left corner of the net to give WFC2 the go-ahead goal.
CITY2 would continue pushing late, but the young 'Caps would hold firm to capture their second away win of the season and their fourth consecutive victory in league.
Up next for WFC2 is another road test against fellow Western Conference side North Texas SC on Saturday, May 14 at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with kick-off set for 6 p.m. PT. You can catch all the action live on mlsnextpro.com. Following the match, the team will then return home to Swangard Stadium for a matchup against MNUFC2 on Saturday, May 21, with kick-off set for 3 p.m. PT.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Velimir Stefanovic
Scoring Summary
18’ – STL – Josh Dolling
76’ – VAN – Owen Antoniuk (Simon Becher, Ali Ahmed)
85’ – VAN – Emiliano Brienza
Statistics
Possession: STL 52.8% – VAN 47.2%*
Shots:* STL 18 – VAN 7*
Shots on Goal:* STL 6 – VAN 3*
Saves:* STL 1 – VAN 5*
Fouls:* STL 16 – VAN 15*
Offsides:* STL 2 – VAN 0*
Corners:* STL 6 – VAN 2
Cautions
24’ – VAN – Joshue Ndakala
31’ – STL – Vitor Días
45’+2’ – VAN – Giovanni Aguilar
61’ – VAN – Emiliano Brienza
71’ – STL – Benjamin Di Rosa
90’+4’ – VAN – Owen Antoniuk
Whitecaps FC 2
60.Isaac Boehmer ©; 53.Simone Masi, 64.Cristian Campagna, 95.Joshué Ndakala (58.Eric White HT); 57.Elage Bah (44.Chris Lee 55’), 92.Jay Herdman (68.Owen Antoniuk HT), 52.Vasco Fry, 66.Giovanni Aguilar, 51.Ali Ahmed; 46.Filip Rakic (49.Emiliano Brienza HT), 29.Simon Becher
Substitutes not used
40.Ben Alexander, 47.Pípé Fernandez-Salvador, 83.Finn Linder
St. Louis CITY2
18.Michael Creek; 25.Benjamin Di Rosa, 15.Joshua Yaro ©, 21.Kyle Hiebert, 22.Kwame Awuah (3.Ezra Armstrong 80’); 6.AJ Palazzolo, 8.Akil Watts; 7.Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal, 10.Vitor Dias (19.Sergio Rivas 84’), 11.Célio Pompeu; 9.Josh Dolling
Substitutes not used
26.Ian McGrane, 4.Fritz Volmar, 13.Karson Gibbs, 14.Anthony Faupel, 16.Jack Wagoner
