Stars missing in action
By Marc Weber
The women's Whitecaps' season is reaching its climax the same way it began, with head coach Hubert Busby Jr. painting the absence of top players as a chance for others to step up.
He doesn't have a choice.
As the Whitecaps boarded a flight to California on Tuesday for the W-League's Final Four, word came that team MVP Melissa Tancredi was boarding a flight to Hamilton for her sister's wedding, starting goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain had already boarded a flight to England for a game against Turkey, and Canadian international Jodi-Ann Robinson was boarded up -- presumably in her room or a library -- prioritizing her studies over soccer.
"What's important is for players now to seize the opportunity to make a name for themselves on this big occasion," Busby said.
The Whitecaps opened the season down eight players to international duty.
They beat the Colorado Force 2-1. A couple of facts though: Colorado finished the season 2-3-5, last in the Western Conference. And Tancredi and Chamberlain both played that day.
Tancredi led the conference with five goals this season, and she scored and set up goals in Vancouver's 2-1 playoff win over Pali Blues on Saturday that vaulted them into the Final Four in Santa Clarita, Calif.
If Tancredi wasn't their player of the game against Pali, Chamberlain was, making several huge stops.
The Whitecaps opponent in the W-League semifinal Thursday is Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues of New York. Hudson Valley was the top team in the regular season at 11-1-0.
Vancouver (7-0-4) is seeking its third W-League title after championship seasons in 2004 and '06. They had to win a challenging conference and knock off the two-time defending champions from Pali to get to this point, which has them confident despite missing key players.
"We've come through a very tough division," said Busby, "and it's prepared us to go into this sort of tournament."
The Buffalo Flash (11-0-2) and Atlanta Silverbacks (8-2-1) square off in the other semifinal with the W-League title game going Saturday at Harry Welch Stadium, 60 kilometres northwest of Los Angeles.
The Whitecaps are still trying to coax Tancredi into playing Thursday, though first they have to find timely flights in and out of Los Angeles. She won't play in the final if they make it.
"Hopefully her family gives us some leeway," said Busby, who expected to know by late Tuesday.
Chamberlain plays for England on Thursday and could be available for the final, though the travel and time change could make Steph Panozzo the better option anyway.
Panozzo, a 20-year-old from Maple Ridge, stepped in for Chamberlain the last time she was away on international duty in mid-June.
Panozzo helped the Caps snap Pali's 33-game unbeaten streak with a 2-1 road win, and she shut out the Santa Clarita Blue Heat 4-0 on the same field the Final Four will be played on.
Panozzo was named to the W-League's team of the week for making 13 saves in those two wins.
"I'm coming in feeling really confident," the former Canadian under-20 'keeper said. "We're playing on the exact same field where I got my shutout and we performed great as a team. Yeah, it's pressure, but being a goalkeeper is about being under pressure and thriving on it."
Her teammates will need to be of the same mindset, especially if Tancredi is ruled out.
- The Caps could have midfielder Monica Lam-Feist back from a leg injury Thursday, though forward Kara Lang (foot) is almost certainly done for the season. Tancredi was named to the all-league team on Tuesday.
W-LEAGUE FINAL FOUR
Harry Welch Stadium, Santa Clarita, Calif. Thursday: Atlanta Silverbacks vs. Buffalo Flash, 5 p.m.; Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Hudson Valley
Quickstrike Lady Blues, 8 p.m. Saturday: Third-place game, 3:30 p.m.; Championship game, 7 p. p.m.TV:Championship live on Fox Sports World Canada.
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