THOUSAND OAKS, CA – Whitecaps FC 2 pushed hard in the second half, but dropped a 2-1 decision on the road against Ventura County FC.
For the young ’Caps, substitute and Whitecaps FC BMO Academy product Tyler Brown notched his second goal of the season.
Under a sunny California sky, WFC2 skipper Rich Fagan gave the nod to forward Aiden Bejaoui to make his first career start. The 17-year-old made his pro debut in the previous match.
Mere seconds after kickoff, WFC2 striker Kevin Podgorni noticed that VCFC goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon was off his line. Podgorni flexed his muscles to launch a long-range rocket towards target – but Conlon sprinted back to recover.
Not to be outdone, young ’Caps ’keeper Sam Rogers deployed cat-like reflexes. His desperation punch brushed aside a powerful Dylan Vanney drive from the top of the box 22 minutes in.
However, VCFC found the opener in the 36th minute. An Eric Preston run down the left wing led to a cross to the middle of the area, where Julian Placias smartly laid off for onrushing Issak Luna – he finished past Rogers for 1-0.
Rogers kept his side in the hunt in the second half as he roared ‘No’ to both Vanney twins – Dylan and Mason – as they caused havoc for the Whitecaps FC 2 back line.
At the other end, WFC2 forward Yeider Zuluaga came three yards from glory. After he calmly backed down his marker, Zuluaga juked inside to unleash a 20-yard scorcher that refused to bend inside Conlon’s far post.
Two minutes later, Ventura County FC tacked on an insurance marker. Though Rogers valiantly scrambled to make split-second consecutive denials deep in the box, Preston slotted home the third rebound to make it 2-0 for the home side.
But the young ’Caps kept their heads up. Defender Micaah Garnette booted a diagonal cross to substitute Brown, who used a defender as a screen before whipping in a low strike past a sliding Conlon. After 75 minutes, VCFC’s lead was cut to 2-1.
WFC2 caused hearts to stop a beat three minutes from time. Off a Yuma Tsuji free kick, Jesse Peace went skyward to nod an attempt – his glancing header zipped wide. Very late in added time, Peace smashed a ball straight at Conlon before the final whistle.
Up next, WFC2 will return home to Swangard Stadium on Friday, June 5 versus Portland Timbers 2 at 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets to every WFC2 home match are only $10 each. Tickets can be purchased at whitecapsfc.com/wfc2. Whitecaps FC MLS season ticket members can access their complimentary WFC2 tickets by using their account number as the access key at checkout. Youth who are 18 and under get in free.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Patricia McCracken
Scoring Summary
36’ – VCFC – Issak Luna (Julian Placias)
70’ – VCFC – Eric Preston
75’ – VAN – Tyler Brown (Micaah Garnette)
Cautions
18’ – VAN – Prince Amponsah
34’ – VAN – Yeider Zuluaga
45+1’ – VCFC – Dylan Vanney
77’ – VCFC – Julian Placias
Statistics
Possession: VCFC 51% – VAN 49%
Shots: VCFC 12 – VAN 9
Shots on goal: VCFC 6 – VAN 4
Saves: VCFC 3 – VAN 4
Fouls: VCFC 13 – VAN 17
Offsides: VCFC 0 – VAN 0
Corners: VCFC 2 – VAN 1
Ventura County FC
41.Sebastian Conlon; 50.Riley Dalgado, 60.Sebastian Hernandez, 73.Enrique Martinez, 88.Mason Vanney; 64.Jose Magaña, 49.Dylan Vanney, 45.Vicente Garcia (83.Angel Villatoro 87’); 95.Eric Preston (61.Chase Gozdieski 87’), 57.Julian Placias (93.Kai Aina 90+4’), 92.Isak Luna
Substitutes not used
42.James Rhodes, 75.Aaron Medina, 85. Edwin RÃos Jr., 94.Mateo McLean
Whitecaps FC 2
60.Sam Rogers; 58.Jesse Peace, 54.Prince Amponsah, 43.Trevor Wright ©, 48.Micaah Garnette; 68.Yuma Tsuji, 46.Cristiano Bruletti; 72.Aiden Bejaoui (64.Tyler Brown 60’), 61.Carson Rassak, 45.Yeider Zuluaga; 51.Kevin Podgorni (47. Marko Popović 78’)
Substitutes not used
70.Timothy Lodder, 53.Immanuel Mathe, 71.Manav Badwal
