BURNABY, BC β Whitecaps FC 2 extended their home unbeaten streak to five matches with a 1-0 victory over Real Monarchs on Thursday night at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC.
WFC2 got their first look at goal in the eighth minute, as Jay Herdman played a through ball to Levonte Johnson at midfield. The Brampton, Ontario native sped past the final Real Monarchs defender and went 1v1 with goalkeeper Blake Kelly but was unable to put his effort into the back of the net.
Four minutes later, the young 'Caps again threatened the Monarchs backline. Herdman was at the heart of the play once more, as found himself on the right wing and whipped a dangerous ball into the box for Giovanni Aguilar at the back stick. The midfielder settled the ball and unleashed a left-footed strike that cannoned off the near post, narrowly giving WFC2 the opening goal of the match.
The end-to-end action at Swangard continued, with WFC2 goalkeeper Max Anchor saving Gennaro Nigro's strike from distance a minute later.
On the stroke of halftime, Johnson was once again sent through on a breakaway, this time by WFC2 striker Gloire Amanda. The Canadian made his way into the box and dribbled past Monarchs defender Gabriel Oksanen, creating space to send a shot towards goal that narrowly beat Kelly at his near post.
Both teams would go into the halftime interval scoreless.
Following the break, Johnson found himself in behind the Monarchs backline for a third time on the night after a ball over the top from Christian Greco-Taylor. Johnson made his way into the box, cut back onto his favourite right foot and chipped Kelly to give the home side the 1-0 lead, scoring his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
In the 81st minute, the young 'Caps came close to doubling the lead as substitute Antoine Coupland played Amanda in on goal, putting his left-footed attempt wide of the target.Β
With the Monarchs pushing for a late equalizer, WFC2 held firm to claim their seventh win of the season.
WFC2 now set their eyes on a quick turnaround this Sunday, June 18 as they hit the road to face Minnesota United FC 2 at National Sports Centre in Blaine, Minnesota. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT. You can catch the match live on www.mlsnextpro.com.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Niko Jecanski
Scoring Summary
56β β VAN β Levonte Johnson (Christian Greco-Taylor)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 46.2% β RSL 53.8%
Shots: VAN 9 β RSL 8
Shots on Goal: VAN 3 β RSL 4
Saves: VAN 4 β RSL 2
Fouls: VAN 15 β RSL 8
Offsides: VAN 1 β RSL 5
Corners: VAN 4 β RSL 5
Cautions
57β β RSL β Bobby Pierre
69β β VAN β Christian Greco-Taylor
Whitecaps FC 2
50.Max Anchor; 57.Elage Bah, 53.Simone Masi (56.Lucas Dasovic 67'), 95.JoshuΓ© Ndakala, 84.Christian Greco-Taylor (46.Darko IliΔ 90'); 52.Vasco Fry, 66.Giovanni Aguilar Β©; 28.Levonte Johnson, 92.Jay Herdman (41.Malcolm Johnston 20'), 76.Joe Hanson (43.Antoine Coupland 67'); 44.Gloire Amanda
Substitutes not used
90.Cohen Park, 47.Amir Ghasemi, 81.Nikos Clarke-Tosczak, 82.Brennen Fuerst
Real Monarchs
98.Blake Kelly; 94.Gabriel Oksanen, 51.Omar Alba, 44.Bobby Pierre, 37.Luis Rivera; 91.Gennaro Nigro Β©, 38.Jude Wellings (78.Seth Powder 64'); 97.Gilberto Garcia, 41.DarΓ³n Iskenderian. 47.Julian Vazquez; 45.Terron Williams
Substitutes not used
81.Derrek Chan, 60.Gershon Henry
