In their lone MLS Reserve League match of the month, Vancouver Whitecaps FC reserves (3W-3L-2D) were held to a 1-1 draw at Chivas USA reserves (3W-2L-3D) on Friday morning.
Both goals came early in the match at The Home Depot Center Field #4 in Carson, California. Atiba Harris gave the ‘Caps second string the lead with a penalty before Casey Townsend equalized for The Goats.
The result extended Whitecaps FC reserves’ undefeated away streak in the Reserve League’s West Division this season to four matches (3W-0L-1D) and leaves them a point behind leaders Chivas USA reserves in the West Division standings.
“We had a good first 20 to 25 minutes of the game, but then we struggled a little bit up to halftime,” Whitecaps FC assistant coach Jake DeClute told whitecapsfc.com. “I thought we did a good job of taking control of the game again in the second half and we were unfortunate not to win against a strong Chivas USA reserve side.
The game’s notable action occurred around the quarter-hour mark, with visiting Whitecaps FC taking the lead on 14 minutes after being awarded a penalty for a hand ball on Jorge Villafaña in the Chivas USA box. Harris converted the spot kick for a 1-0 Vancouver lead.
The ‘Caps advantage only lasted two minutes, as Chivas USA’s second string earned a point with a goal from Townsend on 16 minutes. Juan Agudelo worked the ball down the right flank before threading a pass to Jose Correa, who crossed it to Townsend to convert the equalizer.
The second half saw both sides make several substitutions. Among those to see action for the ‘Caps reserves was goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre, who replaced Brad Knighton. The United States youth international returned to action after a lengthy recovery from off-season knee surgery.
Whitecaps FC reserves will return to action next month with their final Reserve League home match of 2012. They host San Jose Earthquakes reserves at UBC Thunderbird Stadium on Monday, September 10, before concluding their season at LA Galaxy reserves on Sunday, October 7. Admission for the September 10 match is free of charge.
Scoring Summary:
14’ – VAN – Atiba Harris (penalty)
16’ - CHV - Casey Townsend (Jose Correa)
Cautions:
23’ - VAN – Greg Klazura
32’ - VAN – Atiba Harris
39’ - VAN – Bryce Alderson
45’ - VAN – Michael Nanchoff
57’ - CHV – Jose Correa
Chivas USA reserves
Tim Melia; Jorge Villafaña, John Valencia, Rauwshan McKenzie (Nelson Awkari 45’), R. Rodriguez (Anthony Dheming 66’); Laurent Courtois, Eduardo Quezada (Cesar Romero 74’), Juan Agudelo (Paolo Cardozo 45’); Casey Townsend, Jose Correa, Tristan Bowen
Substitutes not used: Patrick McLain
Vancouver Whitecaps FC reserves
18.Brad Knighton (24.Brian Sylvestre 45’); 32.Greg Klazura, 2.James Farenhorst, 19.Carlyle Mitchell, 31.Russell Teibert; 36.Bryce Alderson (43.Jacob Lensky* 70’), 9.Atiba Harris (26.Brett Taylor* 72’), 16.Matt Watson, 8.Etienne Barbara (35.Bobby Bobby Jhutty* 72’); 7.Kenny Miller (34.Caleb Clarke 67’), 13.Michael Nanchoff
Whitecaps FC U-23 PDL player
*trialist
