International foiled by paperwork, injury but scores winner
By Marc Weber
Melissa Tancredi was supposed to be in St. Louis this season and in Norway this week.
But one green card snag and one sprained ankle later, the Canadian international was in the Whitecaps' lineup for Sunday's W-League opener -- and scored the 89th-minute winner.
Vancouver beat the Colorado Force 2-1 in front of 1,482 fans at a sold-out Percy Perry Stadium.
"It was nice to get back out there and it's always nice to have a winning goal on opening day," said Tancredi. "I was very proud."
Tancredi, a 28-year-old from Ancaster, Ont., spent last season with St. Louis Athletica of Women's Professional Soccer. She's also studying chiropractic there, but paperwork problems prevented her return. It turned out to be something of a blessing since the franchise folded last week.
She made a call to Whitecaps coach Hubert Busby Jr. about a month ago and he sealed the deal with a promise.
"I said, 'Trust me, I'm not going
to put you as a left back as you were with St. Louis,'" Busby said. "'You're going to play up front.'"
Tancredi has scored nine times in 43 appearances up front for Canada. She played defence for St. Louis because they were struggling with injuries and the coach "just put the athletic big girl back there," Tancredi quipped.
"All the national team is here anyway and I knew it would be a great environment to play in," she said of joining the Whitecaps for the first time.
She would be with Carolina Morace's Canadian side in Norway right now if not for spraining her left ankle three weeks ago. So that worked out for the Whitecaps, too.
Vancouver was still missing seven players to national team duty on Sunday, and Tancredi, Martina Franko and Kaylyn Kyle were instrumental in delivering the victory.
Kyle, a 21-year-old from Saskatoon, set up the two well-capped Canadians with long free kicks.
Franko headed in the game's opening goal in minute 70 and, after Colorado tied the score in the 86th, Tancredi stepped up.
"I've got some big targets," said Kyle, a University of the Fraser Valley student looking to get back in the national team picture. "It's easy when you play with players like them, players who have played all across the world."
Kyle almost scored a free kick, too. Her 25-yard effort in the 80th minute would have made it 2-0 had Maria Del Guercio not made a great diving save.
English international goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain didn't have much of a chance on Colorado's goal and otherwise had a quiet afternoon in her Whitecaps' debut.
Colorado threatened early in the second half on a 2-on-0 but they were slow to attack and Franko raced back to intercept the pass.
Franko, 34, had her five-month-old son Micah in the crowd on Sunday and he got to see Mom edge closer to Amber Allen's club-record of 91 career points. With the goal, Franko sits on 87.
"Just plan far ahead," Franko said about managing motherhood and driving in from Squamish for practices and games. "A little screaming, pull over, deal with the screaming and then try to make it here on time."
She did. And Tancredi delivered just in time, too.
The Whitecaps now play all five of their road games in a row, starting June 6 at the Colorado Force.
mweber@theprovince.com © Copyright (c) The Province
