Match Report:

By Alan Douglas/whitecapsfc.com

Vancouver Whitecaps FC women battled to a well-earned 1-1 draw against the defending W-League champions Pali Blues at Swangard Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Forward Kirsteen Buchan gave the Whitecaps a first-half lead before Pali equalized early in the second half. It was only the second game in their history that Pali had failed to win as a USL W-League club.

With Sophie Schmidt unavailable, 'Caps head coach Alan Koch switched Amy Vermeulen back into midfield in a 4-4-2 formation. New signing Carmelina Moscato slotted into central defence alongside Randee Hermus, while Katie Thorlakson remained at left fullback. Shannon Woeller returned to the starting eleven at right fullback, as Rachael Pelat was pushed up into midfield. Jodi-Ann Robinson and Buchan started up front for the second match in a row.

Vancouver started very well and had most of the opening play. Just two minutes in, young midfielder Chelsea Stewart hit a good left-footed shot from the top of the box, which Pali goalkeeper Kristin Olsen did well to punch over the crossbar.

At the other end, Pali's best chances came from USA international forward Lauren Cheney, who fired a couple of efforts over the bar inside the first quarter hour of the match.

Whitecaps opened scoring on 28 minutes. A good tackle from Moscato in midfield won the ball for Vermeulen, who fired it ahead to Buchan on the edge of the Pali box. Buchan took one touch with her right foot, then quickly volleyed the ball with her left, sending it past Olsen just inside the left post. It was the first time in three meetings that Vancouver had scored against the Blues.

The visitors had few good opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, with the best being carved out by Cheney. On 38 minutes, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist got the better of Woeller to the left of goal, then moved in, and from the sharpest of angles, fired the ball across the face of goal dangerously.

The Whitecaps hit straight back on the counter-attack, with Robinson leading a two-on-two. She was forced to stop, but then slipped a great ball to Buchan breaking on the right. Buchan got to the ball 15 yards out and hit a crisp shot to the far top corner that whistled just over the crossbar, with Olsen beaten.

The 'Caps led 1-0 at halftime.

Pali, a second-year club who had never lost a game or been shut out in their history, turned up the pressure in the second half. Two minutes after the restart, a corner kick from Mexican international Iris Mora on the left was missed by Whitecaps keeper Sian Bagshawe and bounced around in front of goal. Cheney, though, could not get a decisive touch in a scramble before Robinson cleared the ball.

At the other end on 53 minutes, Vermeulen tested Olsen with a powerful free kick from 25 yards, which was well held by the keeper.

Speedy Pali substitute Nikki Washington was causing all sorts of problems for Vancouver down the right wing, and on 54 minutes, she set up the equalizer. Her waist-high diagonal ball into the box found Mora and her marker Woeller, and deflected off one of them into the goal. The goal was credited to Mora, rather than an own goal, as video replay indicated that the Blues midfielder got a knee to it.

With Whitecaps on their heels, Pali went in search of a winner. On 60 minutes, the ball broke to Cheney wide open 15 yards out to the right of goal, but Bagshawe came up with a huge save to keep it level at 1-1.

On 63 minutes, Vancouver brought on young striker Nikki Wright, the supersub goalscorer against Seattle Sounders in the Whitecaps home opener last month. Wright came close to repeating her heroics, as on 76 minutes, she chased down a ball on the right, then volleyed it just wide of the far post.

Though the Blues continued to look dangerous, the Whitecaps were generally able to contain the threat, aside from a few anxious moments. Vancouver even generated the final scoring chance. In time added on, Moscato's well-delivered free kick was headed on goal by Hermus, but not with enough power on it to beat Olsen.


The match finished in a draw - Vancouver's third straight 1-1 scoreline of the season. It was also the third straight game against top-flight opposition for Vancouver, as Koch has not had the easiest indoctrination into the W-League. The 'Caps 0-0-3 record leaves them in fourth place in the Western Conference, while Pali sit second in the standings at 2-0-2.

"I was very happy with the first half," Koch said after the game, "but a little disappointed with the second half. If we had played the same way in the second half, as we did in the first, I think we could have won today. But the nature of the game is that you have to play for 90 minutes, and we didn't."

The coach also remarked with a smile, "we're the 1-1 draw specialists, so hopefully we'll get a win soon."

The Whitecaps will have that chance soon enough, as they host Los Angeles Legends at Swangard in the first of a doubleheader on Friday night, with the Whitecaps men taking on Miami FC Blues in USL First Division action later that night.

Scoring Summary:
28’ – VAN – Kirsteen Buchan (Amy Vermeulen)
55’ – PAL – Iris Mora (Nikki Washington)

Match Stats:
Shots: Pali Blues 9 - Vancouver 11
Saves: Pali Blues 3 - Vancouver 1
Fouls: Pali Blues 12 - Vancouver 11
Offsides: Pali Blues 1 - Vancouver 3
Corners: Pali Blues 6 - Vancouver 1

Cautions:
90’ – PAL - Iris Mora

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Sian Bagshawe; 3.Shannon Woeller, 11.Randee Hermus, 16.Katie Thorlakson (19.Eden Hingwing 70’), 29.Carmelina Moscato; 6.Amy Vermeulen (21.Paige Adams 89’), 8.Rachael Pelat (20.Nikki Wright 63’),13.Chelsea Stewart, 18.Monica Lam-Feist (22.Rosalyn Hicks 72’); 4.Kirsteen Buchan (2.Kate Qually 79’), 10.Jodi-Ann Robinson

Subs not used: 27.Stephanie Panozzo, 17.Kim McMullen

Pali Blues
33.Kristin Olsen; 5.Jacqueline Carron (29.Melissa Heath 45’), 7.Ella Stephen, 9.Whitney Engen, 28.Bonnie Young; 6.Kirsty Yallop (20.Becky Brown 87’), 10.Iris Mora, 19.Leah Tapscott, 98.Tobin Heath; 8.Lauren Cheney, 16.Emily Wynne (26.Nikki Washington 39’)

Subs not used: 18.Ashlyn Harris