Following a successful trip to California last weekend, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency return home to host Santa Cruz Breakers Academy at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium this coming Thursday, November, 17. The U-18 ‘Caps will play San Cruz Breakers U-17/18 at 4 p.m. PT before the U-16 ‘Caps face off against Santa Cruz Breakers U-15/16 at 6:30 p.m. PT. These are the final home matches for Whitecaps FC in 2011, with both encounters open to the public.
U-18
Currently unbeaten in United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) play, Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency (5W-0L-1D) will look to build on their Northwest Division best 16 points. The ‘Caps are coming off a pair of victories away from home – a 3-1 win versus San Diego Surf U-17/18 and a dominant 6-0 win against Nomads SC U-17/18. The second match included a goal from striker Caleb Clarke to bring his season total to eight goals in six matches. The squad also received a solid contribution from Spencer DeBoice, who tallied a hat-trick in the Sunday clash.
“After a year, the players are now familiar with the playing style,” explained Richard Grootscholten, Whitecaps FC Residency technical director and head coach. “They can always fall back on the playing style, and we’re starting to score some goals now. We’re getting better in the final third, so that’s good.”
Vancouver will look to carry that momentum into what is only their second USSDA match on home soil and extend their current four-match winning streak. This is a crucial match in the standings, as Santa Cruz Breakers U-17/18 (3W-3L-1D) are a fellow Northwest Division rival.
With the team off to a flying start, Grootscholten is keen to see how his squad deals with success. “It’s not so easy to stay focused after winning 6-0 on the road as we did last weekend,” said the Dutchman. “Everyone will want to try to beat us now since we’ve won a lot, but we will make sure to prepare them. It will be interesting to see how they deal with this.”
U-16
Last weekend saw Whitecaps FC U-16 Residency (4W-1L-1D) extend their current unbeaten run to five matches with a 2-1 victory versus San Diego Surf U-15/16 and a 0-0 draw against Nomads SC U-15/16. The second match, however, put an end to their four-match winning streak, despite numerous second half chances to leave California with a second win in as many days. Now, the ‘Caps turn their attention to Santa Cruz Breakers U-15/16 (1W-6L-0D), as they look to remain near the top of the Northwest Division standings.
Grootscholten has been pleased with his young squad so far this season and will look for continued improvement moving forward. “Their performance is not always consistent,” said Grootscholten. “That’s the main goal for them, to be more consistent. They need to try to play simpler and the rest will come later.”
Thursday’s contest will provide another stiff challenge for the young ‘Caps, as they face a short week after a tiring weekend on the road. Sebastian Cabrera, Marco Carducci and Mitch Piraux will all miss the match after being called up to Canada’s U-18 national team for an 11-day camp in San Jose, Costa Rica. Quinton Duncan, Jackson Farmer and Ali Musse have also been called up, but will remain for this match before travelling to Costa Rica. Players from the U-14 Residency roster will join the U-16 squad for this match in place of the absentees.
“We’re going to be missing some very good players,” noted Grootscholten. “So it will be interesting to see how they deal with that and how players perform on this stage.”
Upcoming matches:
After playing their final home matches of 2011 on Thursday, Whitecaps FC U-18 and U-16 will have a two-week break before returning to the field for a series of matches from December 2 to 5 at Premier Sports Complex in Bradenton, Florida. The ‘Caps will face their respective age-group counterparts from FC Dallas on Friday, December 2, Concorde Fire on Saturday, December 3, and Texas SC Houston on Monday, December 5.
