BURNABY, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 came a crossbar and a post short of collecting points in a 3-2 defeat on Sunday night to visiting Ventura County FC at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC.
On the stroke of the eighth minute, attacking midfielder Nikola Djordjevic used his speed to find a pocket of empty space. From 20 yards out, the 22-year-old flexed his muscles to blast a scorcher over the outstretched gloves of Ventura County goalkeeper Brady Scott, but the shot clanged off the crossbar, and out of danger.
WFC2 continued to aggressively press. A Johnny Selemani pass through the top of the box found wide-open teammate Jackson Castro, whose one-touch attempt went wide by two yards.
On the ensuing play, Nelson Pierre pulled off an impressive highlight reel for the opening goal. Off a short Djordjevic chip, Pierre juked and jived past two defenders, scoring the go-ahead goal with a clinical finish.
Six minutes later, Ventura County attacker Nick Sullivan tied the match when he blasted a rebound from in close.
VCFC went ahead 2-1 off a Ruben Ramos Jr. cracker. The 18-year-old American’s left-footed shot found the net from the right side of the box.
The Pierre highlight reel continued in the 73rd minute. Off a poor clearance deep in the box, he alertly sprinted forward in front of a pair of defenders to hammer the ball home for a brace.
With time winding down in regulation, Pierre pulled off a give-and-go with substitute Antoine Coupland, who came a mere foot away from putting WFC2 ahead, as his strike cracked off the near post, and out of play.
Ventura County took their lifeline and made the most out of it. On the counterattack, right back Jason Bucknor cut across goal to notch the game-winner in the 86th minute.
Next up, the Blue and White continue their home stretch with a clash against Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday, May 3 at BC Place. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Thomas Noel
Scoring Summary
18’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre (Nikola Djordjevic, Deylen Vellios)
24’ – VCFC – Nick Sullivan
38’ – VCFC – Ruben Ramos Jr. (Harbor Miller)
73’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre
86’ – VCFC – Jason Bucknor
Cautions
26’ – VAN – Johnny Selemani
28’ – VCFC – Nader Jindaoi
38’ – VCFC – Ruben Ramos Jr.
45’ – VCFC – Dylan Vanney
67’ – VCFC – Tommy Musto
79’ – VCFC – Brady Scott
85’ – VAN – Antoine Coupland
90+2’ – VAN – Deylen Vellios
Statistics
Shots: VAN 11 – VCFC 18
Shots on Goal: VAN 2 – VCFC 7
Saves: VAN 4 – VCFC 1
Fouls: VAN 13 – VCFC 17
Offsides: VAN 3 – VCFC 5
Corners: VAN 2 – VCFC 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
60.Alexander Milošević; 46.Deylen Vellios, 53.Mark O’Neill ©, 51.Dembo Saidykhan, 54.Daniel Russo (43.Antoine Coupland 61’); 68.Yuma Tsuji (62.Luca Chen 89’), 44.Jackson Castro; 41. Nikola Djordjevic, 63.Johnny Selemani (75.Rayan Elloumi 75’); 64.Mateo Clark, 42.Nelson Pierre
Substitutes not used
70.Trystan Read, 48.Adrián Pelayo, 61.Kyler Vojvodic, 66.Sahil Deo
Ventura County FC
31.Brady Scott; 26.Harbor Miller, 64.Jose Luis Magana Jr., 63.Chris Rindov, 50.Riley Dalgado (55.Jason Bucknor HT); 65.Tommy Musto, 47.Jeorgio Kocevski, 49.Dylan Vanney (97.Garcia Vicente 71’); 74.Nader Jindaoi (78.Luis Müller 66’), 24.Ruben Ramos Jr. (51.Ascel Essengue 88’), 83.Nick Sullivan (61.Sean Karani 71’)
Substitutes not used
91.Owen Pratt, 87.Gabriel Arnold
