WHITECAPS AND SOUNDERS DRAW 2-2

July 27, 2007 - Vancouver Whitecaps - 2
Seattle Sounders - 2

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC (Attendance: 5,288)

Full Time Rewind - TEAM 1040

Vancouver Whitecaps FC missed the chance to record their first win in July after a 2-2 draw with Seattle Sounders.

In what was a pulsating four-goal contest between two Pacific Northwest rivals, the Whitecaps looked on course for victory after a first-half Tony Donatelli penalty and late second-half strike by newcomer Alen Marcina cancelled out Roger Levesque’s early header for the Sounders.

However, in three minutes of stoppage time, Seattle substitute Greg Howes broke Vancouver’s hearts with a free-kick strike that eluded Whitecaps goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel and earned the Sounders an unlikely away point in their final regular-season meeting with the Whitecaps.

Whitecaps head coach Bob Lilley made four changes to the side that lost 2-1 at Portland Timbers last week, with captain Jeff Clarke returning to the line-up to partner Geordie Lyall in the centre of defence. Lyle Martin also came into the backline, as centre backs Adrian Cann and Steve Klein did not dress because of injury. New arrivals Josh Hansen and Marcina started Friday’s game on the substitutes’ bench, as Jason Jordan and Jason McLaughlin replaced the Montreal Impact-bound duo of Joey Gjertsen and David Testo in attack.

On a gorgeous evening for soccer in Burnaby, and with Whitecaps legend Peter Beardsley in attendance, a third-straight sell-out Swangard Stadium crowd hoped the Whitecaps could register their first points in the fan-sponsored Cascadia Cup competition.

They saw Lilley’s side make a very bright start, with Martin Nash having the game’s first two opportunities in the first minute. Making his 150th appearance for Vancouver, the Canadian international had an initial shot blocked before volleying his rebound over the Seattle crossbar. The new strike pair of McLaughlin and Jordan then tested Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander moments later, as the home side tried to take the early advantage.

The Sounders, to their credit, showed why they had been a side in form recently, with some crisp passing spells during the opening 45 minutes.

There was a scary moment in the first half, as Sounders striker Levesque came out worse from a nasty collision with Pfannenstiel, but he was able to continue and he would play an important part in giving Seattle the lead on 16 minutes.

Kenji Treschuk’s long throw into the Whitecaps box found the head of Levesque at the near post, and with Pfannenstiel hesitating to challenge, the ball slipped into the net to give the Sounders the lead.

The home side were stunned to be behind and Donatelli tried to respond two minutes later, but his shot was high and wide. On 23 minutes Lyall, another player making his 150th appearance, headed Nash’s free kick at the far post into the arms of Eylander.

With the Whitecaps playing a makeshift defensive backline, Seattle continued to pose problems for their hosts, with Pfannenstiel needing to block away a forward ball from the onrushing Sebastien Le Toux before Josh Gardner struck a shot high and wide of the target for the visitors.

The Whitecaps kept pressing for an equalizer in the final stages of the first half and were rewarded with a penalty on 41 minutes. Referee Mathieu Bourdeau adjudged Sounders defender Taylor Graham to have taken down Jordan in the Seattle box, as he was about to line up a shot on goal. Donatelli stepped up to beat Eylander with his spot kick and bring the Whitecaps fans back into the game at 1-1.

In the one minute of stoppage time, Donatelli nearly scored his second goal of the game, but his first-time shot just missed the target, as both sides went to the break in a 1-1 draw.

The second half saw the Whitecaps apply most of the early pressure in what proved to be an entertaining and competitive restart to the contest.

On 59 minutes, Lilley made two changes by introducing new signing Marcina and Alfredo Valente for Jordan and Morris. After forcing Eylander to make a fine save, McLaughlin was replaced by another new addition in Hansen on 70 minutes. “I’m glad to be here in Vancouver,” Hansen said after the game. “It was a tough decision to leave the guys back in San Francisco this week, but it all happened in a few days. I had to make a decision, so I chose that this is the best place for me right now.”

Six minutes later, Pfannenstiel needed to make an important save from Kevin Sakuda after the Whitecaps failed to properly deal with a Hugo Alcarez-Cuellar free kick from the right.

Though the score clock had gone out for a brief spell, the Whitecaps took a seemingly priceless lead on 85 minutes through one of their new faces. From a tight angle, Surrey, BC, native Marcina converted Lyle Martin's low cross through the legs of Eylander and into the net to make it 2-1. “I’m glad to get a goal,” Marcina told reporters after the game. “It’s a great confidence booster for me and I hope it continues. I was a little surprised to come here to Vancouver because I was at Montreal for a short time. Yet, I was excited to come home and play my position, as I was played out of position in Montreal. I was brought here for a reason, so I have to live up to expectations.”

Vancouver nearly scored their third goal on the break in 90th minute, but Nash’s low strike just rolled just wide of the target before three minutes of time was played, and that extra time proved pivotal to Friday’s result.

Seattle were awarded a controversial free kick near the edge of the Whitecaps box, and Sounders substitute Howes struck a set-piece that took a funny bounce in front of the diving Pfannenstiel and past the German keeper to earn Seattle a late point - much to the displeasure of the Whitecaps fans. “It feels like a loss actually,” a disappointed Diaz Kambere said. “It’s disappointing because we played well, but we’ll build from here.”

The result means Vancouver are now winless in eight games, though they end a four-game losing streak with the draw. Seattle’s four-game winning streak, meanwhile, comes to an end with the result. The Whitecaps moved above Montreal to third in the standings, but remained four points behind Seattle, who moved to 32 points.

Despite the late draw, Lilley feels his side is heading in the right direction. “The result is disappointing, but I’m real happy with the guys,” he told reporters after the game. “We were better than we were a week ago. All four of our forwards that we used tonight were lively and we caused Seattle problems. Though we were a bit unfortunate, it was a great team performance. When we look at the big picture, we are a better team now, so we need to continue to work hard and if we keep playing like that, we’re not going to lose or draw many games.”

The Whitecaps next game is next Thursday at Swangard Stadium, as Lilley’s side host Puerto Rico Islanders.

Goal Summary:
16' Seattle 0-1 Roger Levesque (Kenji Treschuk)
Treschuk's long throw-in from the left finds Levesque's head eight yards in front of goal, and the big striker flicks it on net, beating goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel.

41' Vancouver 1-1 Tony Donatelli (PK)
The ball squirted through to Jason Jordan who got just behind the defence ten yards out, but before he could shoot he was knocked down from behind by Taylor Graham. The Seattle defender got a yellow card, and Donatelli stepped to the spot to convert a rare Vancouver penalty kick. It was Donatelli's third goal of the season.

85' Vancouver 2-1 Alen Marcina (Alfredo Valente)
Lyle Martin down the right played the ball to the near post to Valente who sent it in front for substitute Marcina to fire in his first goal in a Whitecaps uniform.

90'+ Seattle 2-2 Greg Howes
From a 35-yard free kick in the third and final minute of injury time. Howes blasted in the equaliser.

GAME STATS

Shots: Vancouver - 15 Seattle -3
Saves: Vancouver - 1 Seattle - 5
Fouls: Vancouver - 19 Seattle - 18
Offsides: Vancouver - 1 Seattle - 3
Corners: Vancouver - 6 Seattle - 1

Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau

Cautions: Vancouver - Kindel 25', Morris 43' - Seattle - Graham 40', Treschuk 49', West 80'

Vancouver Whitecaps FC:
29.Lutz Pfannenstiel, 24.Lyle Martin, 13.Geordie Lyall, 2.Jeff Clarke, 8. Steve Kindel, 28. Diaz Kambere, 7.Martin Nash, 14.Tony Donatelli, 20.Dave Morris (9.Alfredo Valente(27.Stefan Leslie)), 26.Jason Jordan (11.Alen Marcina), 15.Jason McLaughlin (18.Josh Hansen)

Vancouver subs not used:
30.Richard Goddard, 16.Narcisse Tchoumi, 6.Jay Alberts

Seattle Sounders:
22.Chris Eylander, 2.Noah Merl (21.Adam West), 17.Zach Scott (9.Craig Tomlinson), 26.Taylor Graham, 15.Kevin Sakuda, 31.Josh Gardner (11.Nathan Knox), 7.Leighton O'Brien (20.Greg Howes), 77.Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, 16. Kenji Treschuk, 8.Sebastien Le Toux, 18.Roger Levesque

Seattle subs not used:
1.Ben Dragavon, 3.Jake Besagno, 12.Gabe Strum

Winning 50-50 Ticket: Pink 1104982

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