Whitecaps FC Residency teams were back in action on the weekend with a full slate of matches.
U-19
The ‘Caps U-19s headed south to face Sacramento Republic FC.
Georges Mukumbilwa scored twice in the first half to secure a 2-0 victory.
After five matches played, the U-19s are leading the Northwest Division with 2.4 points per game.
U-17
The U-17s were also in Sacramento, falling 2-1 to Republic FC.
After going down 1-0, Patrick Ruszczyk tied the match at 1-1 in the 63rd minute, but Sacramento regained the lead two minutes later and saw out the match.
"Overall a disappointing result, but the performance was good enough to win the game and certainly we didn't deserve to lose it,” said U-17 head coach Adam Day after the match. “We had several chances in the first half to take and stretch a lead, but they took their only chance going into halftime 1-0 up. Again we were dominant in the second half, but as soon as we got back into it at 1-1 they scored right away to give them something to hold onto and the game fizzled out with us attacking and them countering. It wasn't the result we wanted but it was another good learning experience and we have a good run of games now heading into the Winter Showcase. I expect the next few months to be a strong period of growth for the boys."
U-15
The U-15s played two matches, first taking on Ballistic United SC.
After conceding against the run of play in the first half, the ‘Caps were sharper in the second half and were rewarded with an excellent goal from Dale Reas-Do, who had just subbed on. The end result was a hard fought 1-1 draw.
“Overall we know we could have got more out of the game, but we let ourselves down with a slow start in the first half,” said U-15 head coach James Merriman. “There were some good individual performances, including three from our 2004 group who stepped in and made positive impacts on the game: Kyle Degelman, Matteo Campagno, and Theo Afework.”
In their second match, the U-15s took on Sacramento Republic FC.
A slow start saw the ‘Caps go down 2-0 in the first five minutes. However they quickly got back into the match with a free kick goal from Kam Habibullah.
The Blue and White then came out flying in the second half, as Habibullah completed a hat-trick to help push the team to a 3-2 victory.
“Lots of learning moments again for this group in our first away weekend,” noted Merriman after the match. “We’re pleased to see the boys fight back in both games, but we also need to have a stronger mentality to not go behind in the early moments of matches. We will take the positives and get back to work this week as we head into another double game weekend.”
U-14
Playing their third match in a week, the U-14s traveled to earn a 2-1 win over an older Vancouver Island Wave side.
Thomas Budisa scored a goal that was assisted by Isaac Milambo, and Yayo Mutombo netted the other on an assist from Jay Herdman.
“Credit to the boys, they played well in the first half and have totally turned a corner in terms of performance output and were full value for the lead they took into the second half,” noted head coach Scott Howey to whitecapsfc.com. “We will continue to focus on the process not the outcome, but the reward of a win gives the players a nice tangible for the work they are putting in daily.”