Vancouver Whitecaps Prospects Women had their bid for a seventh straight PCSL win snuffed out by a determined Surrey United side, as Vancouver lost 2-0 on Thursday night at SFU.
Two former Whitecaps came back to haunt their old club, as midfielder Kate Qually scored the first-half game winner for Surrey, while goalkeeper Stephanie Moignard made some big saves for the shutout. Qually had played for the W-League Whitecaps in 2005 on a call-up from the reserves, while young Moignard dressed as a back-up goalkeeper that same year on a call-up from the Whitecaps U-17 side.
After some half-chances for both teams, the first good shot on goal came on minute 18, and what a shot it proved to be! Surrey's Qually curled a superb 25-yard free kick into the top left corner past Shimone Slomowitz to open scoring.
Surrey did a superb job of limiting Vancouver's chances, as they battled for every ball, maintained good possession, and defended well.
Speed was the home side's greatest weapon. On minute 21, Lauren Hamson broke in on the right, but Moignard came out quickly and blocked the shot. Five minutes later, Alicia Tesan turned on the jets on the left, but Moignard was just able to stop the angled shot to the far post, and then recovered to pounce on the rebound.
Neither team was able to create much before minute 41. That's when Surrey's Ellen Kuyer got the ball 15 yards in front of goal and slotted it into the bottom left corner to make it a 2-0 advantage for the visitors.
The Prospects pushed forward looking for a quick reply before the half ended. Tesan broke in on goal, but then squeezed her shot wide of the far post. Then in injury time, Tesan stole the ball from one defender on the left, dribbled past another, but then drove her shot into the side-netting. Moments later on the right, Julia Cory made some good moves to create space for a shot before firing the ball across the face of goal.
Despite a flurry of chances, it remained a 2-0 lead for Surrey at the halftime break.
The visitors were very light on substitutes, and with the Whitecaps able to frequently throw on fresh legs thanks to the Pacific Coast League's liberal substitution rules, fatigue increasingly became a problem for Surrey as the game wore on.
One Vancouver substitute in forward Lana Rockhill had a shot following a corner kick early in the half, but it went straight at the keeper.
Another change the Whitecaps made was to switch goalkeepers at halftime, with Ariel Anderson entering the game. One reason for the change became apparent on minute 55, as Anderson's powerful goal kick sent Janine Frazao on a partial breakaway. However, she fired the bouncing ball wide.
On minute 64, Vancouver's Tessa Meyer managed to put the ball in the Surrey net, but it was called back, as the referee had whistled Meyer for an infraction after breaking past two United defenders.
Rockhill showed good determination on minute 78 to fight past two Surrey players, but Moignard made another great save to keep Vancouver off the scoresheet. The United keeper was at it again six minutes later, this time stopping a crisp half volley from Hamson on the edge of the United area.
The final chance fell to Vancouver's April Coffin, who hit the crossbar with a powerful shot in injury time. It simply was not the Prospects' night.
The Prospects now sit at 6-2-0 on the season. They will now prepare for their next PCSL game on Tuesday, June 17, against the always-tough 3-1-1 Tri-Cities Xtreme at SFU in what has become something of an annual grudge match.
As for Surrey United, they improve to 3-4-0 and next play PSSA Rapids on Saturday, June 21, at Cloverdale Athletic Park.
Whitecaps Prospects Women - starting line-up v Surrey United
Shimone Slomowitz; Melissa Bowen, Carolyn Bell, Alanna Foster, Julia Cory; April Coffin, Tessa Meyer, Chelsea Buckland, Janine Frazao; Alicia Tesan, Lauren Hamson
