Match Report:

By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps recorded their second straight goalless draw in less than a week after a 0-0 stalemate at Seattle Sounders on Wednesday evening.

Despite creating numerous goalscoring opportunities against their Interstate 5 rivals on the Starfire Sports Stadium turf in Tukwila, Washington, the Whitecaps were left frustrated at being unable to convert their chances in this latest Pacific Northwest clash in the USL First Division.

The result moves Vancouver to within two points of USL-1 leaders Puerto Rico Islanders, though a win on Wednesday could have taken the Whitecaps on level terms with their Caribbean rivals in the league standings.

Injuries and suspensions forced Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson into three changes from the side that drew 0-0 at home to Puerto Rico on Sunday night. Luca Bellisomo replaced Geordie Lyall at right fullback, while Mason Trafford took the place of injured captain Jeff Clarke in midfield. Up front, Nicholas Addlery replaced the suspended Eduardo Sebrango, who missed the midweek Cascadia Cup match after being sent off against Puerto Rico.

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer, meanwhile, made two changes to the side that started last Friday's disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Puerto Rico. Costa Rican defender Michael Rodriguez and forward Kevin Forrest came into the starting XI for Nikolas Besagno and Ciaran O'Brien.

After some heavy late afternoon rain showers in Tukwila, Washington, a Starfire crowd of 3,203 initially enjoyed a dry and cool late summer's evening of soccer, with the Sounders having plenty of first-half possession, while Vancouver had the better scoring opportunities before the break.

Dressed in their away kit of all blue, the Whitecaps looked comfortable on the fast and bouncy turf surface in the opening stages, with referee Ben Chouaf issuing a ninth yellow card of the season to Sounders defender Zach Scott for his challenge on Bellisomo on seven minutes. A minute later, Martin Nash saw his indirect free kick at goal blocked away for the visitors.

Though they had plenty of the ball, Seattle struggled to really test Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly in the opening half, while at the other end, Addlery struck Vancouver's first warning shot high and wide of the Sounders goal on 17 minutes.

The first real chance of the game fell to the visitors on 23 minutes, but the dangerous-looking Lyle Martin – who was playing on the right-hand side of midfield – saw his header from an Alfredo Valente ball into the Seattle box saved by Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander before Addlery had his shot blocked on the rebound and Nash had his effort deflect into the arms of the Seattle shot-stopper.

It brought a promising spell of play from Vancouver, with Charles Gbeke unlucky not to connect with Valente's cross in front of goal on 26 minutes. Two minutes later, Martin's pace allowed him to slip in behind the Seattle backline to receive Gbeke's fine through ball, but the speedy winger was only able to hit the side-netting with his chipped finish.

The Sounders responded with centre back Taylor Graham heading wide of the target on 32 minutes, while Frenchman Sebastien Le Toux struck a shot right into the assured arms of Nolly three minutes later.

The Whitecaps, however, were a threat on the break, and they had a major chance to take the lead on 38 minutes when Gbeke and Martin combined to set up Addlery in the Seattle box. After eluding one challenge, the Jamaican striker's right-foot shot was well saved by Eylander.

The two minutes of stoppage time saw Le Toux have the final chance of the half for Seattle, but the forward's set-piece flew into the arms of Nolly before both sides headed to the break deadlocked at 0-0.

The second half saw the heavy rain showers return to Starfire, with Thordarson making a change in attack, as Jason Jordan replaced Gbeke to partner Addlery up front.

As the players got soaked in the driving rain, Seattle created the first set of chances after the restart, with Levesque striking a shot at Nolly on 52 minutes before Graham was unlucky not to properly connect with Le Toux's corner from the left two minutes later.

On 57 minutes, Le Toux caused Vancouver a scare when he redirected a quickly played Seattle throw-in just wide. At the other end on 63 minutes, Valente struck a free kick into a Sounders wall after Rodriguez was booked for bringing Addlery down near the edge of the Seattle box. A minute later, Nash nailed a shot wide of Eylander's goal after the Sounders failed to clear a Valente cross from the left.

The counter-attack was proving to be an effective weapon for the Whitecaps, and on 72 minutes, Valente squandered a major chance for the visitors when he hit the Seattle side-netting after taking a pass in open space on the left of the Sounders box from Jordan.

Two minutes later, Addlery had another big chance to break the deadlock after Martin found the forward with a neat through ball on the break, but his shot was saved well again by Eylander, with the ball spinning up and over the crossbar for a corner.

On 83 minutes, Whitecaps Residency youngster Randy Edwini-Bonsu replaced Addlery for his second first-team appearance of 2008. His debut came in the 2-1 international friendly win over Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy in the striker's hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, on May 13.

A minute later, on Edwini-Bonsu's first touch of the match, the speedy forward was unlucky not to score the match-winner. The youngster sent a strike over the Seattle crossbar from close range after Eylander made two initial saves from Valente and Jordan. On 87 minutes, Valente forced a fine diving save from Eylander with his low shot.

The dying stages saw Edwini-Bonsu nearly cause a Seattle own-goal, while Nolly saved a Graham shot and Le Toux missed the target with another free-kick chance in the three minutes of stoppage time. Though frustrated not to win again on the road, a point had to be settled for by the Whitecaps on the night. "We were, by far, the more dangerous team," Nolly said after the game. "I think we missed some golden chances, but nonetheless, it's good to come here and get a draw in a tough place like Seattle. We'll hopefully get some consistency up front and get some goals in the games to come."


Thordarson felt his side deserved a greater reward for their efforts in Washington State. "I'm fantastically proud of the team, as they played extremely well and created so many good chances," he told whitecapsfc.com. "However, it's getting a little bit frustrating to see us not score on some of those opportunities. That is the difference between being in first place and being third or fourth in the league. I'm not happy that we claimed just one point tonight, but it’s just how it is."

Though they missed the chance to move into a tie for first place in the USL-1 standings, the draw did allow the Whitecaps to match last year's regular season total of 39 points, with another seven games left for Vancouver in this season's schedule. The Whitecaps will now turn their attentions to another Cascadia Cup match when they host Portland Timbers at Swangard Stadium on Friday evening. Seattle, meanwhile, continue their end-of-season run of games at home when Carolina RailHawks visit Starfire on Sunday night.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC have announced that they will pursue one of two Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchises set to be added to the league by 2011. Fans are encouraged to visit whitecapsfc.com/mls to register their support for a Whitecaps MLS franchise and help show the rest of North America what Vancouver and British Columbia have to offer.

Goal Summary:
no goals

Match Stats:
Shots: Seattle 16 - Vancouver 17
Saves: Seattle 7 - Vancouver 4
Fouls: Seattle 6 - Vancouver 14
Offsides: Seattle 3 - Vancouver 5
Corners: Seattle 5 - Vancouver 4

Cautions:
Seattle: Zach Scott 7', Kenji Treschuk 28', Taylor Graham 62', Youssouf Kante 73'
Vancouver: none

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Jay Nolly; 4.Wesley Charles, 6.Luca Bellisomo, 15.Omar Jarun 22.Takashi Hirano; 7.Martin Nash, 9.Alfredo Valente, 18.Mason Trafford, 24.Lyle Martin (23.Vincente Arze 86'); 11.Nicholas Addlery (17.Randy Edwini-Bonsu 83'), 98.Charles Gbeke (26.Jason Jordan 45')

Subs not used: 31.Simon Thomas, 20.Ethan Gage, 27.Stefan Leslie, 28.Diaz Kambere

Seattle Sounders
22.Chris Eylander; 4.Danny Jackson, 15.Kevin Sakuda, 17.Zach Scott, 26.Taylor Graham; 10.Youssouf Kante (14.Jason Cascio 79'), 18.Roger Levesque, 20.Michael Rodriquez; 8.Sebastien Le Toux, 11.Kevin Forrest, 16.Kenji Treschuk (21.Adam West 85')

Subs not used: 1.Benjamin Dragavon, 9.Craig Tomlinson, 13.John Fishbaugher, 25.Nick Besagno, 31.Josh Gardner