Burnaby, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency made the best of some bleak weather on Saturday at Simon Fraser University’s Field 4, as the ‘Caps U-18 and U-16 sides both won against their respective counterparts from De Anza Force. With the victories, both sides sit atop the United States Soccer Development Academy’s (USSDA) Northwest Division in their age groups.
U-18
Make it eight for the U-18 side.
Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency took down a tough De Anza Force U-18 side 4-2 on Saturday morning, extending the season-opening win streak. Striker Dario Zanatta led the way with two goals, while defender Andre Baires and attacking midfielder Marco Bustos got the other markers for the Blue and White
The early portion of the match was played, for the most part, in the middle third of the field. Some stout defending from both sides meant that neither the ‘Caps nor De Anza could produce any quality scoring opportunities.
Whitecaps FC broke through for the game’s first real chance in the 17th minute. Bustos created a bit of separation from the defense with some nice footwork and fired a rocket from 30 yards out. Bustos’ ball hit the post. Zanatta was called offside before he could bury the rebound.
Now with momentum, the ‘Caps wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Under a minute later, Terran Campbell found Zanatta with a well-placed ball in the De Anza area. The striker did well to make solid contact and one-touch the ball past the keeper.
From that point of the first half, the ‘Caps controlled the play for the most part, and got a few quality chances in doing so.
Whitecaps FC’s best chance to add to their lead came at the very tail end of the first half. In stoppage time, midfielder Jordan Haynes unleashed a screamer from 35 yards out that rang of the crossbar. It stayed out, though, and the teams went into the break with the ‘Caps up 1-0.
De Anza evened up the score 10 minutes into the second half. After De Anza recovered a ‘Caps throw-in deep in their own end, the Blue and White were caught off-guard by the Force counterattack, and the ball ended up behind goalkeeper Marco Carducci.
The ‘Caps didn’t take long to respond, as Baires put them back out in front at 66 minutes. After Bustos delivered a corner directly into the box, the ball ricocheted around until it found its way to the feet of the center back, who smashed a shot into the upper half of the De Anza net.
However, De Anza wouldn’t go down without a fight, and tied it up again in the 71st minute. A deep cross in the ‘Caps end got past Carducci, and an oncoming Force forward tapped it in to an empty net.
Two minutes later, Ali Musse did some nice work down the right flank and found Zanatta in the box. The Victoria, BC native made no mistake, one-timing the ball and giving the ‘Caps a 3-2 lead.
In the 89th minute, after Bustos was tripped up in the Force area by the De Anza goalkeeper, the skipper took the penalty himself, smashing a shot to the upper left corner and sealing the result for the ‘Caps U-18 side.
“It was a good test for us,” said head coach Niall Thompson. “I’m impressed with how we came back, after going up and they tied it. We had a couple of mental mishaps, but I’m happy with how we reacted. We controlled the ball, kept possession, and attacked. So, I’m happy with it.”
Scoring Summary
18’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta
58’ – DAF
66’ – VAN – Andre Baires
71’ – DAF
73’ – VAN – Dario Zanatta (Ali Musse)
89’ – VAN – Marco Bustos
Vancouver Whitetcaps FC U-18
1.Marco Carducci; 39.Josh Cuthbert, 5.Vaggeli Boucas, 2.Andre Baires, 17.Jeevin Kang (23.Francesco Saporito 77'); 24.Vana Markarian, 11.Jordan Haynes; 14.Terran Campbell (20.Kyle Jones 63’), 10.Marco Bustos, 8.Ali Musse; 9.Dario Zanatta
U-16
Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency were full value in a gritty performance on Saturday afternoon. The ‘Caps controlled the play early and took care of business in their own end en route to a 2-1 win over De Anza Force U-16.
Daniel Sagno, playing up top for the Blue and White, registered both of the team’s goals in the first half, and, on the other end, only a penalty kick could beat goalkeeper Luciano Trasolini.
Sagno opened the scoring for the ‘Caps at 18 minutes as the result of some great passing in the box between himself, Munir Saleh, and Thomas Gardner. Gardner’s final ball found Sagno with room and the striker capitalized, putting the U-16s up 1-0.
Twelve minutes later, Sagno struck again, as he elevated over a De Anza defender in the box and got his head on beautiful left-footed cross from fullback Michael Baldisimo.
At the 51 minute mark, De Anza was awarded a penalty after Jonas Hakkinen took down his man in the box. On the ensuing shot, Trasolini did a brilliant job anticipating the direction, and made a diving stop.
However, the ref called encroachment, and the kick was re-taken. On the second attempt, De Anza finally broke through Trasolini and got on the board.
That’s as close as De Anza would get, as the ‘Caps stifled any offensive attack from that point on and earned their sixth win of the season.
"We talk a lot about maximum effort and performance in our discussions with the players leading up to the game,” said head coach Rich Fagan. “We got both of those today, and we are very pleased with the outcome."
Scoring Summary
18’ – VAN – Daniel Sagno (Thomas Gardner)
30’ – VAN – Daniel Sagno (Michael Baldisimo)
51’ – DAF – (penalty kick)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-16
42.Luciano Trasolini; 32.Kadin Chung, Jonas Hakkinen (37.Nick Apostol 45’), 4.Matthew Baldisimo, 33.Michael Baldisimo; 45.Munir Saleh (49.Gloire Amanda), 13.David Norman; 36.Cole Morokhovich (34.Georges Mukumbilwa 73’), 28.Thomas Gardner, 41.Duwayne Ewart; 27.Daniel Sagno
