VANCOUVER, BC –
On a beautiful day at UBC Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Reserves (2W-0L-2D) went up 3-0 in the first half, but gave up three unanswered goals in the second half to draw 3-3 with Chivas USA Reserves (2W-0L-1D).
On six minutes, the first goal of the match came when Erik Hurtado made a nice pass into the box, where Kekuta Manneh tapped in the ball past Patrick McLain for an early 1-0 lead.
Just five minutes later, in the 10th minute, Corey Hertzog and Manneh connected, only this time Manneh’s shot was stopped by the sprawling goalkeeper.
On 16 minutes, Chivas USA had their first chance to equalize as Aaron Ponce fired a rocket from 30 yards out, but his shot was tipped over the net by Joe Cannon.
On 33 minutes, a nice passing sequence from the 'Caps saw them double their lead. Hurtado found Greg Klazura out wide, who then made a nice pass from the right side into the box, where Tommy Heinemann finished his opportunity to give the ‘Caps a 2-0 lead.
In the 40th minute, the Goats nearly cut the ‘Caps lead to one, as Ponce headed the ball towards goal, but his header found the right post.
Moments before halftime, on 45 minutes, Hertzog danced around the Goats’ defenders and lobbed a shot towards net which was tipped by McLain off the crossbar, but the rebound landed on the head of Heinemann, who made no mistake, finishing to give the ‘Caps a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half.
Five minutes into the second half, on 50 minutes, Hurtado ran down the middle of the field, making his way through the Chivas USA defence, but his pass into the middle of the box was shot wide by Hertzog.
On 54 minutes, Hurtado had another chance as his shot from the left side of the box was fired just over the left-hand corner of the net.
Despite the continued pressure from the home team, the visitors found a way back into the match In the 58th minute. With the ball passed back to him from teammate Jose Manuel Rivera with much work left to do, Josue Soto promptly fired a cannon from 30 yards out that went passed goalkeeper Simon Thomas - halftime sub for Joe Cannon - and into the net to put the Goats on the scoreboard.
12 minutes later the Goats found another as Rivera lined up a free kick and curled it over the top of Thomas and into the net to reduce the ‘Caps lead to just one goal, 3-2.
As Chivas USA tried to claw their way back, the ‘Caps looked to win back momentum.
On 77 minutes, Hurtado carried the ball just outside the box and tried his luck, but his shot went just over the top of the net.
Another chance for Hurtado came on 82 minutes, as the speedy winger broke through several defenders and into the bock, having his first shot blocked, but from that deflection the ball bounced up in the air for a volley attempt which caromed off the right post.
With chances not falling for the 'Caps to put the match away, the Goats got their equalizer in the 85th minute. Soto found himself with space in the middle of the park and fed Rivera in the box as he calmly chipped his shot just over the head of Thomas and into the net.
The remaining minutes saw a few chances for both sides in the final few minutes, but the match ultimately ended in a 3-3 draw.
Whitecaps FC assistant coach Carl Robinson was disappointed in the result, but gave Chivas USA credit for their comeback.
“It’s a game of two halves,” commented Robinson to whitecapsfc.com.“Fantastic first half. The boys were excellent and did everything I asked and more. Disappointed we were only 3-0 up to be honest, but I had a feeling if they got one then the game might change and it certainly did in the second half, and all credit for Chivas [USA], they come back and score three goals, but the game should have been put out of sight.”
Next up, Whitecaps FC Reserves travel to Virginia to battle Richmond Kickers in their first MLS-USL PRO inter-league match on Saturday, June 22 at Richmond City Stadium.
Scoring Summary
6' - VAN - Kekuta Manneh (Erik Hurtado)
33' - VAN - Tommy Heinemann (Greg Klazura, Erik Hurtado)
45' - VAN - Tommy Heinemann
58' - CHV - Josue Soto (Jose Manuel Rivera)
70' - CHV - Jose Manuel Rivera
85' - CHV - Jose Manuel Rivera (Josue Soto, Laurent Courtois)
Match Stats:
Shots: Vancouver 22 – Chivas USA 17
Shots on Goal: Vancouver 7 - Chivas USA 8
Saves: Vancouver 5 – Chivas USA 4
Fouls: Vancouver 6 – Chivas USA 4
Offsides: Vancouver 6 – Chivas USA 2
Corners: Vancouver 3 – Chivas USA 7
Cautions
38' - CHV - Aaron Ponce
39 - VAN - Kekuta Manneh
76 - CHV - Josue Soto
Vancouver Whitecaps FC:
1.Joe Cannon (39.Simon Thomas 45'); 32.Greg Klazura, 36.Jackson Farmer, 33.Adam Clement, 25.Sam Adekugbe; 20.Aminu Abdallah, 43.Ethen Sampson (22.Marco Bustos 63'), 19.Erik Hurtado, 23.Kekuta Manneh (38.Cam Hundal 71'); 26.Corey Hertzog (34.Caleb Clarke 68'), 29.Tommy Heinemann
Subs not used:
None
Chivas USA:
24.Patrick McLain; 25.Steven Purdy (33.Omar Elmasri 45'), 13.Josue Soto, 5.Carlos Borja, 12.Marco Delgado; 31.Marvin Iraheta (34.Angel Gonzalez 45'), 14.Giovani Casillas, 16.Laurent Courtois, 6.Jose Manuel Rivera, 18.Aaron Ponce; 29.Armando Flores (17.Brian Kennedy 71')
Subs not used:
32.Michael Abalos
