TUKWILA, WA – Despite the dreary weather, it was a high-octane match at Starfire Stadium in Washington, as Whitecaps FC 2 suffered an all-action 5-3 defeat to Tacoma Defiance.
Tacoma began the match strong, putting some early pressure on, but Whitecaps FC 2 did well to weather the storm. Yet, it was the young ‘Caps that got the game’s first look on goal, with Cyprian Kachwele cutting inside from the left and firing with his right, but it flying just over the crossbar. Deylen Vellios then put in a lethal cross right across Tacoma’s six yard box, but it was cleared before it could get tapped in by Nelson Pierre.
The Defiance then came close to taking the lead minutes later, after a flicked-on free kick found Gallantin Sandes alone at the back post, but his shot went into the side netting. Alexander Milošević got called into action at the half-hour mark, making two big saves. Initially, Daniel Robles fired from distance for Milošević to parry away, before two follow-up shots were blocked and collected by Whitecaps FC 2’s defence and ‘keeper.
A couple of late chances were created by WFC2 right before halftime. Firstly, Johnny Selemani found Pierre on the right-hand side of the box, but the Haitian’s shot was blocked before it could fly in. Then, Kachwele attempted another shot from inside the box, similar to the first, and forced Tacoma ‘keeper Jacob Castro to tip it over. But before the young ‘Caps could take the ensuing corner, the referee whistled for halftime.
The second half saw the young ‘Caps to shift into gear, battling with Tacoma until a golden opportunity in the 60th minute. Pierre’s clever play saw him fouled in the box for a penalty, to which Jackson Castro stepped up and cleanly tucked away for the 1-0 lead.
WFC2 then doubled their lead just three minutes later, through Mateo Clark. A smart read by Clark saw the youngster intercept a loose pass at the back, setting himself up to volley a vicious shot that roared past Jacob Castro and into the back of the net.
Tacoma halved the deficit in the 70th minute, however. A long ball towards Jackson Khoury allowed the forward to chip it first time over Milošević and trickle the ball across the line for 2-1. Right after, Selemani nearly restored the two-goal lead for Whitecaps FC 2, after his shot from the edge of the box was parried wide by Castro.
In the end, Tacoma equalized in the 74th minute, as Yu Tsukanome managed to squeeze a shot in from the edge of the box. Tsukanome then got his brace two minutes later, tapping it in from close range to give Tacoma the 3-2 lead.
Tsukanome completed his hat-trick with just two minutes remaining, turning in a cross to make it 4-2. Sebastian Gomez then made it 5-2 in added time, before Mark O’Neill got his first MLS NEXT Pro goal for WFC2 in the last minute to make it 5-3.
In the end, despite a valiant fight back, Whitecaps FC 2 came away with a tough loss in Washington.
WFC2 are back in action next Saturday, April 12 as they host Austin FC II at Swangard Stadium. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. PT. Tickets are free for youth 18 and under, and can be accessed through Universe for either for $10 or complimentary to Whitecaps FC MLS season members by using their account number as their access key.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Iryna Petrunok
Scoring Summary
60’ – VAN – Jackson Castro (penalty kick)
63’ – VAN – Mateo Clark
70’ – TAC – Jackson Khoury (Gallantin Sandnes)
74’ – TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Travian Sousa)
76’ – TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Daniel Robles)
88’ – TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Jackson Khoury)
90’+2 – TAC – Sebastian Gomez
90’+4 – Mark O’Neill (Mateo Clark)
Statistics
Possession: TAC 54% - VAN 46%
Shots: TAC 15 - VAN 13
Shots on Goal: TAC 8 - VAN 5
Saves: TAC 2 - VAN 2
Fouls: TAC 16 - VAN 14
Offsides: TAC 1 - VAN 1
Corners: TAC 6 - VAN 2
Cautions
26’ – TAC – Daniel Robles
45’+4 – VAN – Johnny Selemani
53’ – VAN – Jackson Castro
65’ – TAC – Cody Baker
78’ – VAN – Cyprian Kachwele
89’ – VAN – Danny Flores
Tacoma Defiance
29.Jacob Castro; 39.Stuart Hawkins, 53.Gallantin Sandes, 4.Leo Burney (37.Snyder Brunell 61’); 44.Charlie Gaffney (33.Cory Baker 45’+1), 40.Charles Dodzi (36.Yu Tsukanome 67’), 34.Daniel Robles, 31.Birame Diaw (3.Travian Sousa 46’); 74.Edson Carli, 48.Jackson Khoury, 42.Rafferty Pedder (90.Sebastian Gomez 46’)
Substitutes not used
30.Lars Helleren, 32.Joon Mo Kang, 38.Kaito Yamado, 45.Peter Kingston
Whitecaps FC 2
60.Alexander Milošević; 41.Nikola Djordjevic (54.Daniel Russo 64’), 53.Mark O'Neill ©, 51.Dembo Saidykhan, 46.Deylen Vellios; 62.Luca Chen (47.Danny Flores 77’), 44.Jackson Castro; 42.Nelson Pierre, 63.Johnny Selemani; 64.Mateo Clark, 55.Cyprian Kachwele
Substitutes
70.Trystan Read, 61.Kyler Vojvodic, 65.Francesco Troisi, 68.Yuma Tsuji
