VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC recorded a 3-1 loss against Eastern Conference side Chicago Fire FC at BC Place this Saturday evening.
Inside the first six minutes, a pass from Pedro Vite found Julian Gressel across the pitch on the right side of the box. The newcomer, making his Whitecaps FC debut, then made a short pass to Cristian Dájome, who's shot struck off the crossbar.
Seven minutes later, Fire midfielder Federico Navarro won the ball in the 'Caps half and found Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri, with his right footed strike outside the box opening the scoring in the 13th minute of the match.
The second half saw the Blue & White grab hold of the match and find the equalizer in the 54th minute. A counter attack was created by a terrific ball from Dájome to Marcus Godinho down the left flank. The wingback then fed a short pass to attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld, who whipped in a ball to Canadian international Lucas Cavallini inside the area, with the striker scoring his seventh goal of the season.
Despite the 'Caps having momentum, Chicago retook the lead. Chris Mueller won a ball back near the endline and played a cross to centre back Rafael Czichos. The captain's close range header gave his squad a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute of the match.
With the game nearing its end, the away side went on a fast counter organized by Fabian Herbers, with a quick pass fed to Shaqiri. The attacking midfielder then gave a ball inside the area to Mueller, who’s cut move opened up enough space to hit a perfect ball into the top far corner to cap a 3-1 win.
The 'Caps now have a quick turnaround as they turn their focus to the Canadian Championship Final at BC Place this coming Tuesday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. PT. The largest Canadian Championship crowd in club history is expected for the match, with the first 15,000 fans receiving a STAND BY ME t-shirt and 50 per cent off all drinks in the first half. Tickets remain available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Lucas Cavallini
Attendance: 14,984
Referee: Joseph Dickerson
Scoring Summary
13’ – CHI – Xherdan Shaqiri (Federico Navarro)
54’ – VAN – Lucas Cavallini (Ryan Gauld, Marcus Godinho)
76’ – CHI – Rafael Czichos (Chris Mueller)
90’ – CHI – Chris Mueller (Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabian Herbers)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 39.1% – CHI 60.9%
Shots: VAN 8 – CHI 16
Shots on Goal: VAN 3 – CHI 4
Saves: VAN 1 – CHI 2
Fouls: VAN 13 – CHI 9
Offsides: VAN 3 – CHI 2
Corners: VAN 3 – CHI 4
Cautions
65’ – VAN – Cristian Dájome
82’ – VAN – Florian Jungwirth
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
60.Isaac Boehmer; 23.Javain Brown (6.Tristan Blackmon HT), 26.Florian Jungwirth, 28.Jake Nerwinski; 19.Julian Gressel (25.Ryan Gauld HT), 20.Andrés Cubas (31.Russell Teibert HT), 17.Leonard Owusu, 2.Marcus Godinho (27.Ryan Raposo 73’); 11.Cristian Dájome ©, 45.Pedro Vite; 9.Lucas Cavallini (24.Brian White 67’)
Substitutes not used
55.Cody Cropper, 4.Ranko Veselinović, 8.Caio Alexandre, 87.Tosaint Ricketts
Chicago Fire FC
1.Gaga Slonina; 2.Boris Sekulic, 23.Carlos Terán, 5.Rafael Czichos ©, 22.Mauricio Pineda (21.Fabian Herbers 85’); 6.Miguel Navarro, 31.Federico Navarro; 8.Chris Mueller (3.Jonathan Bornstein 90’+4’), 10.Xherdan Shaqiri, 40.Brian Gutierrez (7.Jairo Torres 61’); 26.Jhon Durán (9.Chinonso Offor 90’+4’)
Substitutes not used
18.Spencer Richey, 32.Missael Rodríguez, 33.Victor Bezerra, 36.Andre Reynolds, 37.Javier Casas
