FULLERTON, CA – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 came away from their trip to California with three goals and all three points as they claimed a 3-1 victory over LAFC 2 on Thursday evening.
WFC2 drew first blood inside five minutes. Mark O’Neill got on the end of a long throw and looped his headed effort over LAFC 2’s goalkeeper Cabral Carter and into the back of the net.
Nelson Pierre was millimetres away from making it 2-0 just minutes later, after getting on the end of a Cyprian Kachwele cross but pushing his header just wide of the far post.
Matthew Evans came close to getting LAFC 2 back on level terms, but fired his shot wide of the mark from the edge of the box.
The young ‘Caps doubled their lead in the 15th minute on a counter attack, with Kachwele bursting down the right side and cutting it back for Yuma Tsuji to blast home and make it 2-0 on the night.
Adrían Zendejas made a good save just minutes later, going down low to save a Jude Terry shot. The young 'Caps continued to hold firm, as Mark O’Neill then made a big block to deny LAFC 2 from getting a shot from distance on target.
Rayan Elloumi then made it 3-0 to WFC2 after the striker broke forward and burst down the left side, firing a shot from a close angle into the roof of the net for his ninth goal of the season.
Kachwele almost made it 4-0 with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half, after he skipped past the goalkeeper but was unable to turn it in from an extreme angle. The young 'Caps then went into the break with a healthy lead and plenty of momentum.
The second half saw WFC2 put the work in to defend their three-goal lead, as Zendejas denied Moyado in the 54th minute, diving to his left to avoid the ball from crossing the line.
Gavin Zambrano reduced the deficit just two minutes later, firing from distance to make it 3-1.
Zendejas later made a vital save with less than 20 minutes to go, getting down low once again to keep his side’s two-goal advantage.
Whitecaps FC 2 held firm in those last twenty minutes, dispelling any dangerous opportunities from LAFC 2, as they saw out a huge win to rise up to seventh in the table. The team is back in action on Sunday, August 31st, as they host Portland Timbers II at Swangard Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Jay Schlesinger
Scoring Summary
5’ – VAN – Mark O’Neill (Nikola Djordjevic)
15’ – VAN – Yuma Tsuji (Cyprian Kachwele, Nelson Pierre)
29’ – VAN – Rayan Elloumi (Nelson Pierre, Jackson Castro)
56’ – LAFC – Gavin Zambrano (Bryan Moyado)
Statistics
Possession: LAFC 62% - VAN 38%
Shots: LAFC 24 - VAN 10
Shots on Goal: LAFC 8 - VAN 4
Saves: LAFC 1 - VAN 7
Fouls: LAFC 18 - VAN 13
Offsides: LAFC 1 - VAN 8
Corners: LAFC 5 - VAN 1
Cautions
27’ – LAFC – Jude Terry
38’ – LAFC – Matthew Evans
45’+1 – VAN – Antoine Coupland
58’ – VAN – Sahil Deo
65’ – LAFC – Tommy Mihalić
75’ – VAN – Rayan Elloumi
80’ – LAFC – Érick Díaz
88’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre
Los Angeles FC 2
31.Cabral Carter; 40.Sebastian Nava, 44.Christian Díaz (83.Skylar Kaplan 64’), 65.Adrian Sanders (55.Érick Díaz 64’), 72.Carlos Diaz; 70.Matthew Evans (46.DeCarlo Guerra HT), 66.Bryan Moyado, 56.Jude Terry (48.Gavin Zambrano HT); 37.Kairo Walters, 59.James Lane (77.Adrian Wibowo HT), 90.Tommy Mihalić
Substitutes not used
41.Ethan Scally, 47.Marius Aiyenero, 63.Dempsey Resich, 71.James Arteaga
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
30.Adrían Zendejas; 41.Nikola Djordjevic, 48.Adrián Pelayo, 53.Mark O'Neill ©, 66.Sahil Deo (64.Mateo Clark 77’); 68.Yuma Tsuji, 44.Jackson Castro; 55.Cyprian Kachwele (93.Antoine Nehme 90’+3), 43.Antoine Coupland (63.Johnny Selemani 66’); 75.Rayan Elloumi, 42.Nelson Pierre
Substitutes not used
98.Marko Kos, 71.Carson Rassak, 74.Charlie Rogers
