BURNABY, BC – It was an exemplary performance by Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC, as they blew past Austin FC II with a 4-0 victory to secure their first win of the season.
The young 'Caps started off strong, with Nelson Pierre threatening early on and Alexander Milošević commanding his box.
Cyprian Kachwele got the games first shot, cutting inside from the left before striking an effort right towards Austin FC II goalkeeper Marcus Alstrup.
Pierre nearly got the games opening goal inside 15 minutes, looking to get on the end of a through ball and poke the ball around the onrushing Alstrup but the ball got snatched underneath Pierre by the Austin goalkeeper.
The game simmered down for a little while until Pierre managed to slip past the defence at the half-hour mark. Austin’s Nico Van Rijn was then forced to bring him down as the last man just outside the box, earning his marching orders and giving the young ‘Caps an extra-man advantage. Daniel Russo, on his Whitecaps FC 2 debut, took the ensuing free-kick and thumped it into the top corner to give the home side the 1-0 lead.
The young ‘Caps did not let up, earning a second goal just two minutes later. Johnny Selemani capitalized on a loose clearance and drilled a pass to Kachwele at his feet. The striker’s first chance after cutting inside was blocked but he was not to be denied a second time as his left footed effort smashed against the roof of the net to make it a quick-fire 2-0 advantage for his team.
Selemani nearly got a goal for himself just before half-time, bundling through defenders in the box and snatching a shot in front of goal that was just diverted behind by Alstrup. That would prove to be the last action of the half as WFC2 went into the break with two goals and an extra man to the good.
The second half saw the young ‘Caps firing on all cylinders.
After knocking on the door for the first 15 minutes, Nikola Djordjevic made it 3-0 at the hour mark. Daniel Russo cut a ball across goal for Djordjevic to sweep home to triple the score.
Milošević then came up big a few minutes later to keep the clean sheet alive, going to ground and denying Mohammad Badawiya from poking it past him.
Pierre made it 4-0 in the 69th minute, getting on the end of a Cyprian Kachwele cross that could not be cleared and tapping it in.
WFC2 then went into cruise control, dominating the match and defending well. Pierre almost got his second of the game in the 84th minute, after getting on the end of a long ball forward from Milošević but he put his effort the wrong side of the post.
The young 'Caps are back in action this Wednesday, April 23rd for a quick turnaround as they host Houston Dynamo 2 at Swangard Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Mo Mohseni
Scoring Summary
31’ – VAN – Daniel Russo
34’ – VAN – Cyprian Kachwele
60’ – VAN – Nikola Djordjevic
69’ – VAN – Nelson Pierre
Statistics
Possession: VAN 44% - ATX 56%
Shots: VAN 22 - ATX 7
Shots on Goal: VAN 9 - ATX 4
Saves: VAN 4 - ATX 5
Fouls: VAN 10 - ATX 9
Offsides: VAN 4 - ATX 0
Corners: VAN 8 - ATX 3
Cautions
66’ – VAN – Mateo Clark
66’ – ATX – Ervin Torres
74’ – VAN – Daniel Russo
Ejections
30’ – ATX – Nico Van Rijn
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
60.Alexander Milošević; 46.Deylen Vellios, 53.Mark O’Neill ©, 51.Dembo Saidykhan, 54.Daniel Russo; 44.Jackson Castro, 64.Mateo Clark (62.Luca Chen 74’); 41.Nikola Djordjevic, 63.Johnny Selemani (43.Antoine Coupland 61’); 42.Nelson Pierre, 55.Cyprian Kachwele (61.Kyler Vojvodic 84’)
Substitutes not used
80.Isaac Francoeur, 76.Riley Ferraro
Austin FC II
1.Marcus Alstrup; 34.Daniel Cieśla, 5.Nico Van Rijn, 4.Antonio Gomez, 3.Ruben Bonachera; 32.Micah Burton (27.Mohammad Badawiya 63’), 8.Ervin Torres, 6.Adrián González; 77.Diego Abarca (31.Chris Avila 87’), 9.Peter Grogan (17.Vlad Dănciuţiu 46’), 25.Anthony De Anda (33.Santiago Maynez 87’)
Substitutes not used
40.Cooper Roney
