Despite a constantly changing cast of players, Vancouver has re-established itself among the elite clubs of North American women's soccer
By Bruce Constantineau
Win or lose tonight, the Vancouver Whitecaps women have righted a near-sinking women's program this season.
The undefeated Caps take on the undefeated Buffalo Flash for the W-League title in Santa Clarita, Calif. just a year after failing to make the playoffs -something that happened twice in the past three seasons.
"Obviously we're looking to win but regardless of what happens, we've re-established ourselves as one of the premier clubs in North American women's soccer," first-year head coach Hubert Busby Jr. said in an interview Friday.
The Caps -league champions in 2004 and 2006 -have succeeded this year with a group of talented players who have come in and out of the roster on a revolving-door basis.
National team duties, family commitments, personal commitments and injuries have combined to create a new-look starting lineup almost every game.
But here they are, just one game away from a third league title in the past seven seasons.
Busby said his players would have to "step up" this week to offset the loss of key starters: league MVP candidate Melissa Tancredi (at her sister's wedding), forward Jodi-Ann Robinson (school commitments) and first-choice keeper Siobhan Chamberlain (in Turkey with English national team).
That's exactly what they did Thursday in a clinical 3-1 semifinal win over Hudson Valley.
Kaylyn Kyle scored her first goal of the season and assisted on a Martina Franko tally to help the team grab a 2-0 halftime lead.
Defender Rachael Pelat -who played just 97 minutes in two appearances this year -played a full 90 minutes at left back and did a solid job.
Versatile defender/midfielder Melanie Booth made just her third appearance of the year when she came on in the second half to score the Caps' third goal and then head a ball off the Hudson Valley crossbar.
Booth, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year, has accepted her role as a substitute player this season.
"I knew coming in that I was basically just trying to get back into the game," she said. "Just being in a training environment with such quality players and coaching was my first priority. It was never like I was going to just jump right into a spot."
Booth said if she plays tonight, she will likely come off the bench again in an attacking role.
Busby said midfielder Kara Lang still has a foot injury and won't play against Buffalo but English international Chamberlain rejoined the team Friday and may start. Chamberlain was the backup keeper for England's 3-0 win over Turkey this week in a World Cup qualifier.
The Flash had 10 wins and two draws in their season, scoring 48 goals and giving up just five. They are the W-League's only fully-professional team, which means they have more experienced players and no college players on their roster.
The Buffalo squad is led by Canadian international midfielder and league MVP candidate Kelly Parker, who scored 11 goals and added five assists in just seven regular-season games this year. Parker scored twice in Buffalo's 3-1 semifinal win over Atlanta on Thursday.
"They have really good attacking players and we'll have to try to limit the amount of touches Parker gets on the ball and that won't be easy," Busby said. "They're savvy players with a lot of experience so the most important thing is to defend as a unit and limit their opportunities."
Franko, who played against Parker in Women's Professional Soccer last year, said she's not too worried about her Canadian international teammate.
"She's not any better than a lot of the players we've played against so I don't feel like she's that big of a threat," she said. "We've all played against a lot of good players throughout our league and throughout our careers so she's just another player."
bconstantineau@vancouversun.com
Next game
Tonight
vs. Buffalo Flash
7 p.m. at Santa Clarita, Calif.
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