OTTAWA, ONT – Vancouver Whitecaps FC are set to take on NASL side Ottawa Fury FC in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal (4:30 p.m. PT on TSN1)
Here are some news and notes on Vancouver’s starting lineup.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
70.Paolo Tornaghi; 8.Fraser Aird, 26.Tim Parker, 14.Cole Seiler, 3.Sam Adekugbe; 30.Ben McKendry, 31.Russell Teibert ©; 32.Marco Bustos, 11.Nicolás Mezquida, 38.Kianz Froese; 19.Erik Hurtado
Substitutes
24.Marco Carducci, 2.Jordan Harvey, 6.Jordan Smith, 13.Cristian Techera, 23.Kekuta Manneh, 29.Octavio Rivero, 67.Alphonso Davies
Injuries
9.Masato Kudo - fractured jaw suffered during the first half of the May 11 home match against Chicago Fire, had surgery on May 12
22.Christian Dean – meniscus tear on his right knee suffered during training on May 25, surgery on May 31
44.Pa-Modou Kah – right adductor strain suffered on May 27
International duty
4.Kendall Waston – Copa América Centenario (Costa Rica)
7.Christian Bolaños – Copa América Centenario (Costa Rica)
27.Blas Pérez – Copa América Centenario (Panama)
‘Caps for Canada
Tonight’s XI will see the most Canadian starters in a Whitecaps FC first team match since the club joined MLS in 2011. Six Canadians, including five from the club’s Residency program, will start and an additional two Residency products will be available as substitutes. The previous record was five Canadian starters back on May 7, 2014 – a 2-1 defeat at Toronto FC in the ACC semifinal first leg.
Canada’s provinces are also well represented: British Columbia (Ben McKendry - Vancouver), Alberta (Sam Adekugbe - Calgary, Marco Carducci - Calgary, Alphonso Davies Edmonton), Manitoba (Marco Bustos - Winnipeg, Kianz Froese - Brunkild), and Ontario (Fraser Aird - Scarborough, Russell Teibert - Niagara Falls).
Youth development continues to a major focus of the club and on Monday the club announced new Academy Centres in the Atlantic Provinces. As a result, Whitecaps FC now have Academy Centres throughout British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, London (Ontario), Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Prince Edward Island.
Debut night
Two Whitecaps FC players will be making their first-team debuts: centre back and product of Georgetown University Cole Seiler, who was selected 16th overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, and midfielder Ben McKendry, who has developed through the club’s system first as a member of the Whitecaps FC Prospects program before joining the full-time Residency program, and three years at the University of New Mexico.
USL call-up and midfielder Alphonso Davies is available as a substitute and if he makes an appearance he will become the youngest Whitecaps FC player to play a first-team match – regular season or Cup competition – at the age of 15 years and 212 days old. He is also the youngest player to dress in the Canadian Championship and would be the youngest player to appear in a match.
Young guns
The ‘Caps are fielding a starting lineup with an average age of 23 years old. Goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi, 27, is the only starter over 25 years old.
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