Whitecaps FC Residency teams wrapped up their United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) regular seasons in fine fashion on Saturday with a pair of victories over Crossfire Premier.
Both teams will now prepare for the USSDA playoffs from June 23 to 26 at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana. The ‘Caps now await the tournament draw.
U-18
The U-18s enter the playoffs with momentum on their side after ending the regular season with a second straight victory.
Kyle Jones continued his hot streak for the ‘Caps, scoring a goal in a fourth consecutive match as he opened the scoring in the 54th minute.
Ali Musse added another goals three minutes later as the Blue and White secured a 2-0 win.
The U-18s finish fourth in the division, only one point adrift of second and four points off of fourth. The result has them as the top wildcard entry in the USSDA playoffs.
"It was pleasing to see the boys come out and end the regular season with a strong performance," said U-18 head coach Rich Fagan. "It was also pleasing to see another clean sheet. We've conceded the second fewest goals in the USSDA, and we'll need that hard work on the defensive end to continue as we enter the playoffs.
Whitecaps FC U-18
18.William Diaz; 2.Andre Baires, 6.Eric de Graaf, 5.Vaggeli Boucas,17.Jeevin Kang (3.Nike Azuma 84’); 15.Drake Rendle, 13.David Norman; 20.Kyle Jones (12.William Grayson 60’), 8.Ali Musse (23.Francesco Saporito 84’), 39.Josh Cuthbert; 21.Dario Conte
U-16
The Northwest Division champion U-16s produced a solid performance in their final home game of the regular season with a convincing 3-0 win over Crossfire Premier.
The ‘Caps controlled large periods of the game and were duly rewarded on the 34th minute after excellent team play had Terran Campbell following in a rebound after the keeper had saved well from Daniel Sagno.
Minutes later, a driving run from Nicolas Apostol after a swift counter attack led to him breaking through and neatly tucking away to make the score a deserving 2-0 lead at halftime.
The ‘Caps continued to dominate in the second half and some fine goalkeeping kept the score close until the 80th minute when the impressive Noah Verhoeven cut in off the left, continuing his run into the box and coolly slotted him with his right foot to complete the scoring.
"Another good performance,” said Whitecaps FC U-16 head coach Adam Day. “We created lots of goal scoring opportunities and again kept a clean sheet, so overall we’re very satisfied. It's a long season and the boys have done extremely well to have taken the conference championship so I must congratulate them for that first. We hope we can continue to improve and make a push in the playoffs starting in a couple weeks.”
Whitecaps FC U-16
42.Luciano Trasolini; 32.Kadin Chung (43.Chris Gueirrero 46’), 31.Frazer Poulter, 40.Brendan Skinner, 48.Terrell Smith (33.Michael Baldisimo 65’); 28.Thomas Gardner, 45.Munir Saleh, 37.Nicolas Apostol (34.Georges Mukumbilwa 46’); 36.Cole Morokhovich (38.Noah Verhoeven 46’), 14.Terran Campbell (44.Nathan Graziano 72’), 27.Daniel Sagno
