Vancouver Whitecaps Prospects Women stormed to a 4-0 win over PSSA Rapids at Simon Fraser University on Sunday afternoon.
Two goals by Janine Frazao and single markers by Tessa Meyer and Nikki Wright gave the Whitecaps victory at home, while Prospects goalkeepers Shimone Slomowitz and Ariel Anderson shared the clean sheet in a one-sided match against the visitors from Mt. Vernon, Washington.
Whitecaps coach Jesse Symons fielded a fairly familiar looking starting XI, with a notable addition being another guest appearance by midfielder Rosalyn Hicks. The talented veteran got the start less than 24 hours after playing for the Whitecaps women's first team in Saturday's big W-League victory over Seattle Sounders at Swangard Stadium.
The Whitecaps had the best of the early chances and took an early lead. On 17 minutes, Frazao got space in the box to shoot, and fired a crisp low blast past Kara Merfeld in the Rapids goal.
Merfeld was kept busy, as she made a good stop minutes later on Meyer breaking in. However, she could do nothing to stop Meyer on minute 25, as the midfielder slotted home from close range to make it 2-0. That scoreline still stood by halftime.
Shortly after the interval, the Rapids had their best moment of the game. A corner kick from the right found Terri Tigert right in front, and her first-time effort forced a good reaction stop from Slomowitz.
Most of the traffic, however, was in the other direction. On minute 67, Alicia Tesan won a race with Merfeld for a loose ball in the box before cutting it back for Lauren Hamson to fire at the half-empty goal. Unfortunately, a PSSA defender got back to block the effort, as it headed into the bottom corner of the net.
Four minutes later, it became 3-0, as Julia Cory on the right sent a diagonal ball into the box, which Frazao redirected in.
With a quarter-hour remaining, the Whitecaps changed goalkeepers, bringing on 17-year-old Anderson.
The Prospects closed out the scoring on minute 78. A corner kick from Meyer on the right made it all the way across to Wright on the left, and she blasted it in from a sharp angle. It capped an impressive performance by Wright, who started the game at right fullback before switching to left midfield and ending up playing at striker.
The score could have been higher. Minutes after her goal, Wright stole the ball and broke in alone, but was denied by Merfeld. The PSSA goalkeeper was getting little help from her exhausted teammates by this stage, as the Whitecaps poured forward. Merfeld made a superb diving stop to deny Tesan as the clock counted down, and moments later, she stopped Frazao after she was gifted the ball in front of goal by a Rapids defender.
This was the fifth win in a row for the young Whitecaps, who remain in second place in the Pacific Coast Soccer League Premier Division standings with a record of 5-1-0. The Rapids, meanwhile, drop to 1-4-1.
Next up for the Prospects is a game on Tuesday night against struggling Semiahmoo SC, who are gunning for their first win of the season after an 0-6-1 start. There could be a different looking Prospects side on show, however, as the Whitecaps first team will be in need of reinforcements following the departure of a score of Canadian U-20 players for international duty this week.
Whitecaps Prospects Women - starting line-up v PSSA Rapids
Shimone Slomowitz; Melissa Bowen, Brienna Shaw, Carolyn Bell, Nikki Wright; Tessa Meyer, Natalie Boyd, Rosalyn Hicks, Janine Frazao; Alicia Tesan, Sarah Fitzsimmons
