The long scoring drought is over, thanks to striker Cornelius Stewart
By Marc Weber
What a difference a goal can make.
The Whitecaps avoided soccer's version of the golden sombrero on Saturday. They didn't strike out for a fourth straight time at Swangard Stadium. The faithful finally witnessed rippling mesh. It didn't take a miracle, either, just a 20-year-old sparkplug forward named Cornelius Stewart.
And, suddenly, the grass looks greener.
Those long 296 minutes without a goal across all competitions? All but a memory after a 2-0 win over the Rochester Rhinos in front of 4,996 fans.
How about 419 minutes without allowing a goal? Because that's how good this team has been defensively. Portland's Ryan Pore remains the only player to beat Whitecaps' goalkeeper Jay Nolly in league play this season.
How about one loss in nine games overall this season?
All overshadowed, of course, by the thing people really pay to see. Stewart delivered that. From kickoff, you would have picked him in your bump-the-slump pool.
Ansu Toure sprang him for a chance two minutes in. One minute later, Martin Nash did the same. One minute after that, Justin Moose lobbed a pass into the box that Stewart headed past Rochester goalkeeper Neal Kitson, but it was offside.
In the 17th minute, it came. Marcus Haber's shot from 20 yards ended up at Stewart's feet in the heart of the box and he beat Kitson easily. Toure joined him for a dance. Caps coach Teitur Thordarson probably wanted to contribute a song.
"It was a fantastic moment," said Stewart, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines national team player making his third straight start -- his bravado growing with each appearance.
"I'm so glad to score my first goal in the league. I came out today with a bit of confidence. Just run at defenders, do what the coach wanted. I'm going to keep working and score a lot of goals this season, hopefully."
Greg Janicki erased any doubt of the result when he headed a Nash corner past Kitson in minute 51. Last season, the Caps centre backs couldn't prevent goals. Now they're scoring them, too; Janicki being the third to do so.
The Rhinos didn't put Nolly under much pressure, but he made a crucial save off Anthony Hamilton in the 47th minute to preserve the lead and set the table for Janicki's insurance marker.
Rhinos midfielder Jamie Franks came close to making it 2-1 in the 72nd minute but he ripped his shot just wide from distance.
Thordarson wasn't pleased with his team's possession in the second half, but the goals and defending made up for the shortcomings. He singled out his forwards for praise.
"Both of them together had a very tough job defensively," he said of Stewart and Haber.
"We didn't control the game as well as I wanted, so they had a lot of running to do and they did it. That helped us a lot.
"Corny is showing some fantastic things as a striker and a winger."
There was irony to the string of three scoreless ties ending against Rochester.
The Rhinos new coach, Bob Lilley, is the man many in Vancouver accused of defensive heresy in 2007, when he was fired after a dismal, drab campaign.
Saturday was his first trip back. His team couldn't handle the Whitecaps' speed early, and Nash, drawing back into the starting lineup after a back injury, was effective in spreading the field and the Rhinos defence.
Thordarson's only other lineup change was Chris Williams slotting in at right back for Wes Knight, who was resting a tight hamstring.
Nash's assist on Janicki's goal was his league-leading fourth of the season. Nolly and the Whitecaps recorded their league-leading sixth shutout.
Without a scoreless streak to fret over, the biggest question now is: Can the Whitecaps carry this over to their Canadian championship games Wednesday in Montreal and a week later in Toronto? Because both are must-wins to claim the Voyageurs Cup and earn Canada's berth into the CONCACAF Champions League.
"I think it took a little pressure off us, a load off our mind," Nash said of scoring.
"It's going to be a tough test, but I think we're capable of it."
Their chances look better this morning than they did 24 hours ago.
mweber@theprovince.com © Copyright (c) The Province
