Blown halftime lead nearly ends Vancouver's bid for an unbeaten season
BY BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU, VANCOUVER SUN
Next Game
Thursday
vs Santa Clarita Blue Heat
6:30 p.m.
at Minoru Oval
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They're still undefeated and playoff-bound and will likely host the USL W-League Western Conference final later this month.
But the Vancouver Whitecaps women blew a two-goal halftime lead against Colorado Rush on Saturday and had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
It's not the result head coach Hubert Busby was looking for as the 5-0-3 Caps play just two more regular-season games before the playoffs begin.
"It's more than blowing a two-goal lead -it's the way we went about it," he said. "It's a lack of mental focus. But these things are all learning curves for players at this level and if they can adjust and identify these things going forward, then it will be a good lesson."
Busby said he warned his players at halftime to be wary of a desperate Colorado squad with nothing to lose but defensive errors led to two Rush goals in a three-minute span early in the second half.
On the positive side, the Whitecaps were absolutely dominant in the first half and could have been up 4-0 after outshooting Colorado 9-0 in the first 45 minutes.
Leading scorer Melissa Tancredi scored her fifth goal of the season while Jodi-Ann Robinson notched her third and they looked almost unstoppable at times.
Vancouver defender Robyn Gayle -- the only Whitecap to play every minute of every game this year -- looked effective when pushing forward in the first half.
Busby said he wanted the dependable Canadian international, along with fellow defender Danielle Sweeney, to get more involved in the attack and take the game to Colorado.
Gayle got her first point of the season when Tancredi headed home her free kick.
Gayle, a 24-year-old Mississauga, Ont. native in her first year with Vancouver, said the team has lots of talent and tries to be as offensive-minded as possible.
"We hope to mimic the styles of teams like Arsenal or Barcelona," she said. "That's the goal but it doesn't always happen. The goal now is to have some strong 90-minute performances."
Gayle said the disappointing draw shows that if you're not sharp, things can go wrong in a hurry.
"We made a couple of bad errors so now we have a tie instead of a win," she said. "Hopefully we learn from it before playoffs. Better now than later."
The Whitecaps remain in first place in the W-League's Western Conference, eight points ahead of the Rush, who have two games in hand. The Caps are going for their first undefeated regular season since winning the W-League title in 2006 and can finish no worse than second in their conference.
SIDE KICKS: The men's team completed a successful five-game road trip with a scoreless draw in Portland on Saturday. Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly had a huge game, making seven saves to preserve the tie for a Whitecaps squad that had two wins and three draws during the three-week trip.
The 6-2-7 Caps remain atop the USSF D-2 NASL Conference and begin a four-game home stand against AC St. Louis on Thursday at 7:30 p. m.
bconstantineau@vancouversun.com
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