ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 claimed a crucial two points on the road thanks to a 12-save performance from goalkeeper Sam Rogers, as they drew 1-1 in regulation against St. Louis CITY2 and won the ensuing penalty shootout on a cool night at CITYPARK in St. Louis, Missouri.
It was St. Louis who opened the scoring early thanks to a header from Zack Lillington, tucking away his first goal of the season off a corner kick.
St. Louis had a chance to double their lead in the 36th minute, as Zach Zengue got in behind the WFC2 backline and hit a low shot past Rogers that bounced off the far post.
A minute later, Rogers denied Zengue from a tight angle with a diving save to his right.
Shortly after, WFC2 forward Daniel Ittycheria was rewarded for his effort in the press, as he stole the ball of the CITY2 backline, and was fouled inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot for a penalty kick and up stepped Ittycheria to take, but the forward was unable to convert, keeping St. Louis in front.
From there, the young 'Caps were able to build some momentum, as Carson Rassak and Kevin Podgorni both tried efforts at goal.
The breakthrough arrived just before the halftime interval. After some great work from Micaah Garnette on the far side, Ittycheria was able to get on the end of a deflected cross and smash home the equalizer to send the two teams level at halftime.
At the start of the second half, St. Louis midfielder Patrick McDonald was one-on-one with Rogers, but the WFC2 goalkeeper stood tall and calmly denied the home side from taking the lead.
In the 83rd minute, Rogers was once again called into the action as he parried away a low shot, outside the box shot from Lorenzo Cornelius. The goalkeeper had to react quickly, as his rebound made its way to Lucas Jorgensen, but Rogers got up and made the save to keep the match level.
Just before full time, Podgorni got on the end of a perfect cross from substitute Liam Campagna but his first-time effort was denied, narrowly giving the young 'Caps the winner.
The action wasn't done there, with Trevor Wright being forced into a goal line clearance seconds before the full time whistle to send the match to a penalty shootout.
Goalkeeper Rogers played hero as he dove to his right to parry away Sidney Paris' effort, allowing Garnette to step up and slot home the winning penalty for the extra point.
Up next, WFC2 will travel down the I-5 to take on Tacoma Defiance on Saturday, August 1 at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT. You can catch the match for free on OneFootball or MLSNEXTPro.com.
WFC2 return home to Swangard Stadium on Wednesday, August 26 to clash with Los Angeles FC 2, with kickoff at 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets for every WFC2 home match are only $10 for adults and can be purchased online at whitecapsfc.com/wfc2. Whitecaps FC season ticket members can access complimentary tickets by using their account number as their access key, while youth (18 years and younger) can watch WFC2 matches for free.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
Scoring Summary
5’ – STL – Zack Lillington (Zach Zengue)
45+7' – VAN – Daniel Ittycheria
Cautions
14’ – VAN – Trevor Wright
85’ – STL – Zack Lillington
Statistics
Possession: STL 39% – VAN 61%
Shots: STL 29 – VAN 11
Shots on goal: STL 13 – VAN 4
Saves: STL 3 – VAN 12
Fouls: STL 13 – VAN 13
Offsides: STL 3 – VAN 1
Corners: STL 8 – VAN 0
Whitecaps FC 2
60.Sam Rogers; 68.Yuma Tsuji, 53.Immanuel Mathe, 43.Trevor Wright ©, 48.Micaah Garnette; 62.Ryder Sewell (64.Tyler Brown 62'), 46.Cristiano Bruletti; 51.Kevin Podgorni, 61.Carson Rassak; 45.Yeider Zuluaga (47.Marko Popović 79'); 44.Daniel Ittycheria (56.Liam Campagna 90+4')
Substitute not used
70.Timothy Lodder
