Vancouver Whitecaps Prospects Women rampaged to a 10-1 victory over a beleaguered NSGSC Eagles side on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon at Simon Fraser University.
Midfielder Janine Frazao netted a hat trick, while forward Chelsea Buckland went one better with a four-goal performance in Pacific Coast Soccer League Premier Division action.
With no substitutes on the bench, and a long afternoon ahead, Eagles coach Doug Abercrombie opted to keep his back line pressed forward in an effort to compress the field and play the offside trap. It worked on occasion, but the Whitecaps quickly adjusted, with players making deep runs to beat the trap, while front-runners who were caught offside would simply stop and stay out of the play to avoid the whistle being blown. The result was a string of Vancouver breakaways.
First up was Michelle Godoy, who went in alone on minute 11, only to have her shot come back off the post. Frazao followed up, but her effort was bravely blocked by an Eagles defender.
On minute 18, speedy Alicia Tesan broke in on the keeper and finished well to open the scoring.
Defensive problems aside, the visitors were making a good account of themselves. On minute 23, star forward Anna Laue had a headed goal called back for offside, and seconds later, she had a good shot stopped by Whitecaps goalkeeper Stephanie Panozzo.
The home side made it 2-0 on minute 29, as a long diagonal ball found Frazao breaking on the right from deep. She went in alone on goal to score Vancouver's second goal of the game.
Three minutes later, Vancouver netted the prettiest goal of the afternoon. Tesan's corner kick found Godoy at the top of the box and she neatly chested the ball down for Frazao, who stroked it into the net on the half-volley.
Tesan then had another breakaway shortly after the restart, but pulled her shot flew wide of the far post.
At the other end, Laue continued to be the main threat. Late in the half, she hit a good free kick on target, with Panozzo at full stretch to push the ball off the post before it was cleared off the end line. From the ensuing corner on minute 44, Laue headed the ball home to make it 3-1 at halftime.
The Whitecaps came out gunning to the start the second half, and quickly ended any thought of an Eagles comeback. On minute 48, midfielder Tessa Meyer slipped a great ball ahead to Buckland, who broke into the box and made it 4-1.
On minute 54, another great pass by Meyer found Nikki Wright breaking on the left. She outpaced her marker, went around the Eagles keeper, and scored for 5-1. Two minutes later, Buckland got the ball in the North Shore box, twisted and turned to make room for the shot and beat the keeper for 6-1.
Two minutes after that and it was seven. Marika Posehn sent a nice ball over the top to Frazao, who got past the keeper before hitting the target from a sharp angle on the right to complete her hat-trick.
With the Whitecaps in a battle to finish in the top three for a place in the PCSL Challenge Cup tournament, and goal difference a possible deciding factor, there would be no letting up in this game from the home side.
The onslaught continued on minute 67, as Buckland got her hat-trick when she danced past two defenders and hammered the ball past the keeper. She almost scored again with ten minutes remaining, but instead hit the crossbar.
In minute 82, the Whitecaps made it 9-1, as Maya Yamaguchi won the ball and fed Godoy, who then over-powered the Eagles keeper with a hard rising shot into the roof of the net.
The final goal came in the 90th minute, as a nice ball from Carolyn Bell put Buckland in alone, and she neatly lobbed it over the keeper to record her fourth of the game.
The Prospects improve to 9-3-2 and now face the league-leading Victoria Stars on Sunday, July 13, at SFU. The Whitecaps then close out their regular season schedule on Tuesday in an all-important clash with Fraser Valley Action - one of the two teams that Vancouver is fighting with for the league's two remaining playoff spots in the PCSL.
Whitecaps Prospects Women - starting line-up v NSGSC Eagles
Stephanie Panozzo; Marika Posehn, Kelly Cook, Brienna Shaw; Janine Frazao, Natalie Boyd, Tessa Meyer; Lauren Hamson; Chelsea Buckland, Alicia Tesan, Michelle Godoy
