REDMOND, WA – In their final road match of a five-game stretch away from home, Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 (4W-4L-1D) fell 2-0 in defeat to Washington Crossfire (2W-3L-1D) on Wednesday night in Redmond, Washington.
Midway through the first half, the first goal of the match came for the home side as a corner kick found Crossfire midfielder James Moberg. The University of Washington player made no mistake, slotting the ball past ‘Caps goalkeeper Simon Thomas to give the American club a 1-0 lead.
Uncharacteristically, Whitecaps FC U-23 made several first half turnovers that led to chances for the Crossfire, but still the visiting 'Caps managed to stay in the match and head into the break down only a single goal.
Following a tough first half, the ‘Caps came out hungry to find an equalizer and end their tough road stretch with a positive result. The second half showed a Vancouver side that were calm on the ball, with many passes connecting between them.
The improved possession from the Blue and White unfortunately did not lead to an equalizer though, and any momentum gained was lost when the ‘Caps had a goal disallowed in the middle of the second half. On the play, Crossfire goalkeeper Spencer Richey was challenged and dropped the ball, allowing 'Caps striker Niall Cousens to fire a shot into the back of the net, but a foul was called on the play, preserving the advantage for the home team.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Washington sealed the win when a Justin Amundsen cross found midfielder Benjamin Fisk (not to be confused with Whitecaps FC U-23 player and Charleston Battery loanee Ben Fisk), who volleyed the ball past Thomas to make the score 2-0 in favour of the home side.
In the end, the Crossfire were able to hold onto their 2-0 lead to earn just their second win of the season - the other coming against first-place Portland Timbers U-23s.
After the match, head of high performance Stuart Neely expressed disappointment with his team’s play.
“We couldn’t string passes together and we weren’t really ready,” commented Neely to whitecapsfc.com. “Too many mistakes cost us and at the end of the day, we lost 2-0 in an important match.”
Next up, the Whitecaps FC U-23 host Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders FC U-23 on Friday, June 21 at UBC Thunderbird Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and admission is free to the public.
Scoring Summary:
22’ - WAS – James Moberg
83’ - WAS – Benjamin Fisk (Justin Amundsen)
Match Stats
Shots: Washington 14 - Vancouver 8
Saves: Washington 5 - Vancouver 9
Fouls: Washington 8 - Vancouver 7
Offsides: Washington 2 - Vancouver 3
Corners: Washington 4 - Vancouver 1
Washington Crossfire
1.Spencer Richey; 2.Justin Schmidt, 4.Garret Jackson, 7.Nick James, 22.Matthew Fischer, 23.Jeffrey Collings; 11.Benjamin Fisk, 15.James Moberg, 18.Matthew Sarett (19.Sean Russell 75'), 20.Ian Adams (3.Justin Amundsen 82'); 17.Nikolas Besagno
Subs not used
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23
1.Simon Thomas; 6.Adam Clement (25.Sam Adekugbe 64'), 4.James Farenhorst, 26.Kevin Cobby (2.Colton O’Neill 64'), 16.Michael Winter; 21.Marco Visintin, 20.Aminu Abdallah, 7.Harry Lakhan; 23.Cam Hundal (10.Bobby Jhutty 64'), 17.Niall Cousens (12.Sasa Plavsic 79'), 11.Yassin Essa
Subs not used
13.Sean Melvin
