Ian Walker
The Vancouver Whitecaps made a little team history on Sunday. It was nothing to celebrate, mind you.
Vancouver's 3-0 loss to the Pali Blues marked the first time the Whitecaps have been shutout in back-to-back games and failed to score at Swangard Stadium -- a span of 56 games -- and goes down in the books as the team's worst loss on home soil.
Scoreless after the opening half, the W-League-leading Blues capitalized on a trio of errors over the final 45 minutes of play to remain the top class of the Western Conference.
"They're a good team, all it takes is a few mistakes for them to make good and that's what happened," said Whitecaps defender Eden Hingwing. "It was just little foot races here and there, but they took advantage of it."
India Trotter fought off Rachael Palet in the box before beating Whitecaps goalkeeper Sian Bagshawe to open the scoring in the 47th minute. Katy Cross added an insurance marker in the 70th minute and Rosie Tantillo rounded out the scoring with a thundering boot on a free kick in the 77th minute.
The Blues controlled the play for most of the first half, forcing Bagshawe to make a number of quality saves to keep her team in it. Cross's shot off the right post in the 38th minute and Trotter's opportunity from the left side of the box in the 40th minute were two of Pali's best. Bagshawe got her foot on the ball to redirect Cross's attempt then had to be quick on her feet to gobble up Trotter's low boot which had eyes for the back of the net.
Vancouver (5-2-2) currently sits in second place in the seven-team loop, four points back of the Blues (7-0) and nine points up on third place Real Colorado Cougars (2-1-2).
Pali has two games in hand while the Denver-based Cougars have played four fewer games than Vancouver. Only the top two teams in the conference advance to the W-League playoff tournament.
