VANCOUVER, BC – On a day of mixed weather in Vancouver, Whitecaps FC Residency U-16 and U-18 sides had a day of mixed results.
Despite a strong effort, the U-16s fell 1-0 to San Juan U-16, while the U-18s gave a strong performance and defeated San Juan U-18 by a score of 2-1.
U-18
In a hard fought match, Whitecaps FC U-18s (15W-6L-2D) defeated San Juan SC by a score of 2-1 at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium.
It did not take long for the ‘Caps to take the lead, when at 10 minutes, Spencer Deboice took a curling shot from the right side of the 18-yard box and it sailed past the San Juan goalkeeper.
A flurry of action at the end of the match resulted in a goal for the home side, as Marco Bustos scored the ‘Caps second goal of the match. The visitors then pulled one back in the dying minutes of the match.
Despite San Juan’s attempt to equalize, the ‘Caps held strong and the match finished with a 2-1 win for the home side.
Head coach Gordon Forrest was very happy with his team’s performance in a hard fought match.
“It was a tough encounter for the guys today”, commented Forrest on the result. “The opposition defended quite deep, so it was a good learning experience again playing against that type of tactic. It was disappointing to give up a goal right at the end, but overall it was a great game for the boys."
Whitecaps FC U-18 lineup:
Sean Melvin; Quinton Duncan, Jackson Farmer, Nicholas Prasad, Sam Adekugbe; Liam Elbourne (Matthew Chow 78'), Mitch Piraux, Yassin Essa; Dario Zanatta (Marco Bustos 77'), Aymar Sigue (Jordan Haynes 77'), Spencer Deboice
U-16
Despite starting strong, Whitecaps FC U-16s (6W-14L-3D) fell 1-0 to San Juan SC at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium.
Three early chances for the ‘Caps near the start of the match nearly gave the Blue and White the lead, but they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.
Later in the first half, another opportunity to give the ‘Caps the lead came and the ball hit the post, as it appeared luck was not going the Blue and White’s way.
On 50 minutes, San Juan took their opportunity to go ahead when ‘Caps goalkeeper William Diaz punched the ball downwards to the San Juan striker, who headed the ball passed Diaz and into the back of the net.
Despite regaining momentum later in the second half, the young ‘Caps were unable to equalize and the match ended by a score of 1-0 for the away side.
Assistant coach Rich Fagan was pleased with the team’s effort despite the defeat.
“It was a pleasing performance”, commented Fagan. “I think if we played that match three times, we would have won the next two. The boys did enough to win the game, but it was unfortunate that they were unable to capitalize on the chances they created.”
Whitecaps FC U-16 lineup:
William Diaz, Matteo Bordignon (Kadin Chung 70’), Matthew Baldisimo, Vagelli Boucas, Eric de Graaf; David Norman (Rahid Rahiem 55’), Jeevin Kang; Francesco Saporito; Andy Xu (Cole Morokhovich 63’), Terran Campbell (Daniel Sagno 53’), Josh Cuthbert (A.J. Lopez 60’)
