Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency suffered their first setback of the 2009 USL Premier Development League season after a 2-1 home defeat to Seattle Wolves on Friday evening.

In their first league match since returning from a two-week trip to Germany, the Residency team struggled to be at their best against their Washington State opponents at Simon Fraser University's Terry Fox Field. Though 16-year-old Russell Teibert gave the Whitecaps the lead with a superb second-half strike, an Ely Allen penalty and a headed finish from Sean Morris earned PDL expansion club Seattle all three points on Burnaby Mountain.

Residency head coach Thomas Niendorf's starting XI included men's team defender Luca Bellisomo for Friday's Western Conference, Northwest Division match-up. He partnered Jamaican youngster Keithy Simpson in the centre of the Whitecaps backline, with Bobby Jhutty being a late inclusion to the home side's line-up after Graham Smith suffered an ankle injury in the warm-up.

On a beautiful late spring evening on the SFU campus, both sides played out a relatively even first half by creating chances at either end.

On eight minutes, Simpson glanced Residency captain Philippe Davies' free kick from the right wide of the target, while at the other end, Bellisomo got himself in a spot of bother when his wayward defensive clearance struck the top of Whitecaps crossbar and out for a Wolves corner on the quarter-hour mark.

The injury bug that saw Smith miss out on a start for the 'Caps on Friday then struck the home side again on 19 minutes. Jamaican midfielder Evan Taylor suffered an ankle injury following a strong challenge for the ball, with striker Jerome Baker coming on in his place as a result.

Baker's impact on the match became immediate, with the Toronto, Ontario, native forcing Wolves goalkeeper Brian Perk into a save on 22 minutes before setting up teammate Alex Semenets with a chance that he struck wide of goal a minute later.

Perk was called on again to save from the lively Teibert on 38 minutes before Seattle ended the half in the ascendancy with three solid chances at the other end. Casey Cunningham knocked Taylor Hoss' cross wide of the target on 41 minutes before the Wolves striker forced a good save from Residency goalkeeper Julien Latendresse-Lévesque with another header from an Allen corner two minutes later. The third and final chance of the half came just before the break, with Latendresse-Lévesque forced to make a fine save from Hoss' right-footed strike.

It meant both sides went to the break level at 0-0.

The start of the second half saw more attacking ambition from Seattle after Vancouver's Semenets struck another effort wide of goal on 47 minutes. Nick James had two good opportunities for the Emerald City club before Tommy Meyer forced a save from Latendresse-Lévesque on 53 minutes.

Yet, just as the visitors seemed to be getting a grip on proceedings, the Whitecaps took the lead through an excellent long-range strike from Teibert on 57 minutes. The Niagara Falls, Ontario, native took a pass from fellow midfielder Gagandeep Dosanjh before unleashing an unstoppable shot that flew past Perk for 1-0.

The goal seemed to give the young 'Caps new confidence, with Perk needing to save efforts from Baker and Semenets as a result. On 67 minutes, however, the home side were forced into another change, as Nolan Moore came on for Davies, who picked up an injury to his foot after being on the receiving end of a heavy challenge in the Whitecaps half.

Though they initially fell behind, Seattle's desire to claim something from Friday's match saw them turn things around quickly. With a quarter of an hour remaining, the Wolves were awarded a penalty by match referee Mauricio Navarro after Latendresse-Lévesque had taken down Allen in the Whitecaps box, as the Seattle player broke in on goal. The former Los Angeles Galaxy player stepped up to take the spot kick and convert to make it 1-1 a minute later.

The equalizer spurred Seattle on to find the match winner, and on 77 minutes, Wolves substitute Tyler Klein eluded the attentions of Kevin Cobby down the right flank before playing in a cross that found Morris at the near post to head home for 2-1.

It was a spirited turnaround by the Wolves, who looked the brighter side for much of the second half on Friday. The Whitecaps, however, did their best to pull back to level terms. Yet, on 82 minutes, Dosanjh could only strike his shot over the Seattle crossbar from close range after Semenets had found the talented playmaker in the Wolves box.

Though three minutes of time added on were played, the final whistle confirmed a fourth PDL win of the season for the expansion Wolves.


Niendorf admitted that his young side were not at their best against Seattle. "Our passing quality was not there from us today," he told whitecapfc.com. "We will need to evaluate the situation and find some solutions moving forward. We also had some re-adjustments to make because of injuries right from the beginning of the game, and that definitely affected our team shape and organization on the field. Yet, these things do happen, so we'll have to move on."

Whitecaps Residency will have little time to ponder Friday's defeat, as they host Tacoma Tide at SFU on Saturday afternoon. Kick off at Terry Fox Field is at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Seattle, meanwhile, return home for a Sunday afternoon encounter with Yakima Reds.

Scoring Summary:
57’ – VAN - Russell Teibert (Gagandeep Dosanjh)
76' – SEA - Ely Allen (penalty)
77’ – SEA – Sean Morris (Tyler Klein)

Match Stats:
Shots: Seattle 15 - Vancouver 8
Saves: Seattle 4 - Vancouver 4
Fouls: Seattle 12 - Vancouver 10
Offsides: Seattle 5 - Vancouver 1
Corners: Seattle 6 - Vancouver 0

Cautions:
8’ – SEA – Andy Rose
29’ – SEA – Daniel Scott
59’ – SEA – Ely Allen
75’ – VAN – Julien Latendresse-Lévesque
83’ – SEA – Demaci Roussos

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
1.Julien Latendresse-Lévesque; 2.Bobby Jhutty, 12.Kevin Cobby, 16.Keithy Simpson, 20.Luca Bellisomo; 7.Russell Teibert, 9.Sahil Sandhu (14.Coulton Jackson 57'), 10.Gagandeep Dosanjh, 11.Evan Taylor (19.Jerome Baker 19'), 15.Philippe Davies (18.Nolan Moore 67'); 17.Alex Semenets
 
Subs not used: 31.Simon Thomas

Seattle Wolves
1.Brian Perk; 3.Tommy Meyer, 4.Sean Morris, 13.John Fishbaugher, 27.Daniel Scott; 2.Taylor Hoss, 10.Alex Klein (28.Tyler Klein 67'), 11.Andy Rose, 31.Ely Allen; 9.Nick James (29. Demaci Roussos 67'), 21.Casey Cunningham (15.Ian Walsh 85')

Subs not used: 24.Chris Blais, 32.Dave O'Neill