Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams concluded their inaugural trip to the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) Winter Showcase by splitting their third and final non-conference matches versus Houston Texans Soccer Club on Monday.
Kicking off at the same time at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, the U-16 Residency side wrapped up their extended weekend trip to Florida with a 2-0 victory over Texans SC U-15/16’s. The U-18 Residency side, however, suffered their first defeat at the Winter Showcase after falling 3-1 to Texans SC U-17/18’s.
Monday’s matches wrapped up the Blue and White’s time at the Winter Showcase, with both teams earning draws versus the highly-touted FC Dallas Academy on Friday and splitting their Saturday games against Concorde Fire from Atlanta, Georgia.
U-16
The U-16 Residency side were determined to finish the Winter Showcase in positive fashion, and they made a bright early start with the game’s opening goal after just two minutes. Titouan Chopin was taken down in the Texans SC box for a penalty that Carlos Patino converted for a 1-0 Vancouver lead. The young ‘Caps sealed the win on 75 minutes with a goal from striker Brody Huitema.
“We responded well to the defeat on Saturday and put in a solid 80-minute performance today,” Residency assistant technical director and assistant head coach Craig Dalrymple told whitecapsfc.com. “We had a strong start and created several chances in the first 20 minutes of the game. We created those same opportunities early in the second half and kept to our game plan, while giving four of our U-14 Residency players some action. They came in and gave us some energy, which allowed us to score again just before the end.”
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency U-16
Nolan Wirth; Quinton Duncan (Matthew van der Eyden 63’), Alex Comsia (Evan Libke 77’), Jackson Farmer, Sam Adekugbe; Francesco Saporito (Elijah Adekugbe 74’), Mitch Piraux, Titouan Chopin (A.J. Lopez 63’); Carlos Patino (Brian Im 54’), Ali Musse (Marco Bustos 54’), Brody Huitema
Subs not used: Jasdeep Lally
U-18
Looking for a second win in Florida, the U-18 Residency side started Monday’s match well and took a one-goal lead into halftime after Yassin Essa struck for Vancouver on 38 minutes. While they had plenty of possession in the first half, Texans SC defended well and turned the game around with three second-half goals. The Houston-based outfit twice struck on the counter-attack on 48 and 56 minutes before sealing a 3-1 result with a late third goal.
“It’s a disappointing result,” said Residency technical director and head coach Richard Grootscholten. “We played a pretty good first half and had over 70 per cent possession against a well-organized defensive side. After taking the lead, we looked for the second goal, but instead, they scored twice against us on the counter-attack. That led to some bad habits from us and they eventually scored a third goal. It was a frustrating game, but on another day, we would have come out on top.”
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency U-18
Callum Irving; Declan Rodriguez, Tim Hickson, Daniel Stanese, Adam Polakiewicz (Alex Rowley 21’); Ben McKendry, Bryce Alderson, Carlos Marquez (Sebastian Cabrera 76’); Yassin Essa (Wesley Cain 69’), Spencer DeBoice (Ben Fisk 53’), Caleb Clarke
Subs not used: Marco Carducci
