By Farhan Devji/whitecapsfc.com
Fresh off their Coast Capital Cup victory last weekend, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency (0W-1L-0D) will look to make a bright start to their 2010 United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) campaign when they visit local rivals Victoria Highlanders FC (1W-0L-0D) on Saturday night.
The Residency squad emerged victorious in the inaugural pre-season tournament that featured British Columbia's three PDL clubs in the Whitecaps, Highlanders, and Abbotsford Mariners. The young 'Caps drew 1-1 at Abbotsford last Friday night before claiming a late 1-0 home victory over the Highlanders on Sunday to win the tournament. The Highlanders, who will surely be looking for redemption this Saturday, needed only a draw against the Residency team to claim the cup, but
Coulton Jackson
's 90th-minute goal secured the victory for the Blue and White.
Jackson, who also scored against Germany's TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in a post-Dallas Cup friendly last month, will be relied upon to contribute offensively this season. Along with Jackson, striker/midfielder
Russell Teibert
will be a key cog in the Residency team’s arsenal. The Niagara Falls, Ontario, native joined the full-time program last season and started all 14 of his PDL appearances, leading the team with four assists. Look for returning defender
Jack Cubbon
, and midfielders
Bobby Jhutty
and
Kevin Cobby
to also play important roles in the team’s league campaign. Cobby, who has experience as a team captain, played 1,135 minutes last year - third only to Teibert and
Gagandeep Dosanjh
.
Craig Dalrymple, who is the Residency team's interim head coach, says he has two goals for the squad this season. "My intentions are that this team will be competitive and that they show growth and improvement as individuals," Dalrymple told whitecapsfc.com. "Not only is it important that we're a competitive outfit in the league, but it's also important that we can produce players who can step in at the next level, whether it is in Major League Soccer or in another professional environment."
Whitecaps Residency will play 16 regular season matches in the PDL this season, eight of which can be seen on home turf at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Their first home match will be Friday, May 14, against local rivals Abbotsford, while they will end their season on Sunday, July 25, at home to the Highlanders. Although the PDL is a four-conference and 68-club league, the Residency team's regular season opponents will be limited to the Northwest Division of the PDL's Western Conference.
Last season, Kitsap Pumas finished atop the Northwest Division standings with 39 points, while the Residency squad placed sixth with 21 points and finished on the outside of the playoff picture. California's Ventura County Fusion are the reigning PDL champions. In addition to the Pumas, Portland Timbers U-23's and Washington Crossfire - formerly known as Seattle Wolves - will surely provide stiff competition for the Residency squad again this season.
This will be the Residency's third season in the PDL. Despite their disappointing finish in 2009, they captured the Western Conference playoff title in 2008 before bowing out to Canadian rivals Thunder Bay Chill in the PDL semifinals. Although this year’s version of the Residency squad may be a younger group, it certainly appears as though they have the skill to make up for what they lack in experience.
Dalrymple himself believes there is enough skill on the Residency roster to put forward an attractive and exciting product on the pitch in 2010. "We want to play attractive soccer, possession-based soccer, but we also want to play smart soccer," he said. "We want to adapt to conditions and adapt to our opponents and exploit what is given to us. Our style will certainly be very possession based."
The Residency squad will look to duplicate their Coast Capital Cup performance against the Highlanders on Vancouver Island this weekend, but with nearly not as many men's team players as they had at SFU last Sunday. Although this presents a challenge, Dalrymple looks at it as an opportunity. "It’s going to be a chance for the younger players to jump in and repeat or measure their performance against the team last week."
Whitecaps Residency's PDL season opener versus Victoria Highlanders FC at Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford, BC, kicks off this Saturday evening at 7 p.m. PT. You can follow this weekend's match through the Highlanders FC Twitter page.