Vancouver opens season with 2-1 win
By Farhan Devji
Despite missing several key players, Vancouver Whitecaps FC women emerged victorious in their 2010 United Soccer Leagues (USL) W-League season opener Sunday afternoon, as they defeated Colorado Force FC 2-1 in front of an enthusiastic and family-filled home crowd.
In her first match as a member of Whitecaps FC, national team veteran Melissa Tancredi's late second-half marker proved to be the difference between the two Western Conference sides on a mild afternoon in Coquitlam.
Not only were the 1,482 fans who filled Percy Perry Stadium to capacity treated to a picturesque view of Burke Mountain, they also took in a valiant effort from the home side. With seven players, including star strikers Kara Lang and Jodi-Ann Robinson, away on international duty with the Canadian national team, the Whitecaps still outplayed their counterpart from Fort Collins, Colo., throughout the match.
After a lacklustre first half in which neither team was able to manufacture sustained pressure, both teams came out energized after the break looking to take the lead.
Whitecaps captain Martina Franko, after hustling back to break up a Force two-on-zero in the 51st minute, opened the scoring in the 70th minute. The veteran defender, who returns to the Whitecaps after a
three-year absence, got the top of her head on a Kaylyn Kyle free kick and directed the ball over Force goalkeeper Maria Del Guerci to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead.
The Force, who drew 1-1 with Seattle Sounders FC in their regular-season opener on Friday, tied the match in the 86th minute on a seeing-eye close-range shot from Ali Andrezejewski, but the Caps regained the lead late off another precise spot kick by Kyle. Tancredi, who was substituted for Kirsteen Buchan in the 67th minute, found the bottom right corner of the net with a header that Del Guerci was unable to control in the 89th minute.
"What a great pro," said Whitecaps head coach Hubert Busby Jr. when asked of Tancredi. "She just comes in and knows her role; she's just in a different class."
Busby Jr., who took over the coaching duties for the women's squad after a disappointing 2009 campaign, was pleased with the way his group responded after surrendering a late equalizer.
"We wanted to make it exciting for the fans so we took it down to the last minute," joked the former Whitecaps goaltender. "But seriously, they showed great
character and when we were putting this team together and recruiting players, that's the first thing you look for."
Sunday's match, hosted by the Coquitlam Metro Ford local club, was the first of five games that will be played throughout the Lower Mainland, as well as Victoria, as part of the Whitecaps Women's Soccer Series.
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