By Farhan Devji/whitecapsfc.com
Despite scoring first and hitting the woodwork twice, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Prospects Women saw their undefeated season come to a disappointing end on Saturday afternoon, as they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to playoff tournament hosts Coquitlam Metro-Ford Xtreme in the Pacific Coast Soccer League (PCSL) semifinals.
With the defeat, the Prospects will not have the opportunity to repeat as Dave Fryatt Challenge Cup champions, despite claiming the PCSL Premier Division title with a 16W-0L-0D record in the regular season.
Though Saturday's affair at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam, BC, may not have ended as they would have liked, it started well for the young 'Caps, who were missing eight players due to women's team and Canadian national team commitments.
Midfielder Natalie Boyd, who has also spent some time with the Whitecaps W-League squad this season, opened the scoring for the Prospects on eight minutes. After stepping up and making a strong tackle in midfield, Boyd sent a forward ball to Jenna Di Nunzio down the left flank. The outside midfielder then returned the favour and Boyd found the top right-hand corner of the net with a strong right-footed strike from the top of the Xtreme box to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead.
Coquitlam nearly responded seconds later off a scrambled corner before they created another chance off a similar play minutes later. After Whitecaps goalkeeper Ally Williamson received a back pass from a defender, her attempt to kick the ball away ricocheted off the backside of an Xtreme striker to Phoebe Trotman. After taking possession of the ball inside the Vancouver box, the Coquitlam striker let loose a fine strike that seemed labeled for the top right-hand corner of the goal, but Williamson made a diving save to keep the score 1-0.
However, on the ensuing corner, Williamson made an initial save off a Coquitlam header before Lauren Lachlan found the rebound and an open net to level the score at 1-1 on 15 minutes. "In the first 20 minutes, it took us a little while to get going there," said Whitecaps FC manager of technical programs Dave Irvine to whitecapsfc.com, who was filling in as the Prospects team’s head coach on Saturday. "But from that point on, we performed well."
He was not kidding.
On 20 minutes, after a nice feed from the right corner by midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki, striker Jenna Richardson’s first-time opportunity from 10 yards just curled over the Coquitlam goal. Shortly after, a precise corner by midfielder Maryse Reichgeld saw defender Erin Uchacz' header beat Coquitlam goalkeeper Cassie Newbrook, but not the right post, as the score remained 1-1 at halftime.
The 'Caps picked up where they left off in the first half, and nearly regained their lead on 56 minutes off a corner by second-half substitute Taylor Shannik. This time, Uchacz' header was stopped by Coquitlam substitute goalkeeper Aja Aguirre, who made a remarkable fingertip save on the goal line to keep the scoreline level.
That near miss proved costly on 64 minutes, as Trotman broke in behind the Whitecaps backline and finished well to give the hosts their first lead of the match.
Already having nearly scored on two occasions, Uchacz also had the Prospects' two best opportunities to equalize in the dying stages. For a second time, Uchacz' header off a Reichgeld corner hit the right post on 83 minutes. And in the third minute and final minute of time added on, Uchacz was sent in all alone and had three chances to score, but a sprawling Aguirre prevented the Prospects defender from finding the back of the net.
The match ended shortly after, and so did the Whitecaps hopes of a successful defence as Dave Fryatt Challenge Cup holders. "We kept good possession of the ball, but to their credit, Coquitlam dropped a lot of numbers behind the ball and were very disciplined in the way they defended," said Irvine. "We struggled to find a way to get through them and when we did, we just couldn’t find the back of the net. It was just one of those days."
Though Irvine admits the team are disappointed with Saturday's defeat, he believes they should be proud of all they accomplished throughout the 2010 PCSL season. "It’s a bitter ending when you see all that success, and then a tight game like this ends your season," he said. "Once they get today out of the way and look back, I'm sure they’ll be very happy with the way they played this season. It was a great year for the team."
Scoring summary:
8' - VAN - Natalie Boyd
15' - COQ - Lauren Lachlan
64' – COQ - Phoebe Trotman
Whitecaps Prospects Women (starting XI)
27.Ally Williamson; 3.Tori Uhl, 15.Nikki Ambrose, 16.Erin Uchacz, 17.Abigail Phillips; 6.Jaclyn Sawicki, 7.Maryse Reichgeld, 18.Jenna Di Nunzio, 23.Tessa Meyer, 29.Natalie Boyd; 22.Jenna Richardson
