In a season which has contained more Whitecaps lows than highs, one of the shining lights for me has been the continued excellence of the Caps residency teams, and in particular the current U18 squad.
Coming from a life-long lower league football background, I still find it a weird experience to be part of a 20,000+ crowd! I’ve missed the intimacy, the banter and really feeling part of the action, but thankfully the PDL and USSDA games have still been able to give me that this year and I’ve had most of my football enjoyment this season at them.
What has surprised me most though is the quality of football on display in these games.
The Whitecaps have put together a crazily talented U18 squad, that have been head and shoulders above the opposition I’ve seen them play so far this USSDA season.
The U18’s latest action saw them taking on their Seattle Sounders counterparts at Starfire on Saturday, in a feast of football that also saw a U16 USSDA game and two U14 friendlies.
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The Sounders had put a call out to the ECS, and other supporters, to take a break from the Christmas shopping and to come out to Starfire to cheer on their boys with Cascadian pride on the line.
Over 100 fans did just that, and they, along with the players’ families, saw two cracking games of football.
Four Southsiders also made the trip down south, myself included.
Saturday afternoon football, with a nip in the air and lots of banter. The way football should be and just like old times.
You don’t get the officials explaining their decisions to you during MLS games! Admittedly there was a misunderstanding when the referee thought that one of our number shouting was Caps coach Richard Grootscholten. That old Dutch-Canadian accent mix up thing again.
Was also fun to see the officials come over to read AFTN’s flags and mutter puzzledly “East Fife Football Club”. That’s a common reaction!
It was also fascinating to hear the half time team talks from both benches. Really insightful.
Vancouver dominated the U18 game from start to finish, running out 3-1 winners in the end, but they could have been about six up by midway through the first half if they had been able to bury their chances.
Caleb Clarke, in particular, was unlucky not have the earliest hat-trick he would probably ever score. He was touch and go for the game, due to fatigue and illness, and these no doubt played a part in his sharpness, as he looked to add to his 12 goals this season.
It was an onslaught from the off and Alex Rowley scored a peach of a long range strike after just four minutes. The Caps could already have had three goals by that point, as the woodwork, goalmouth scrambles and near misses peppered the whole half.
As is so often the way in such games, the missed chances proved costly for the Whitecaps and the Sounders hit home a controversial equaliser midway through the second half.
The young Caps were adamant the ball hadn’t crossed the line. Where’s goalmouth technology when you need it?
The goal just reignited the Vancouver fire and they turned the heat back up to re-take the lead with seven minutes remaining, after a perfect through ball from Ben Fisk found Carlos Marquez, who coolly and collectedly slotted the ball past the onrushing Sounders keeper.
A neat passing move saw sub Yassin Essa wrap things up in the closing minutes to seal a well deserved 3-1 victory.
There were a number of impressive performances on display and the Florida trip has brought the best out of Ben Fisk again, who looked sharp, creative and was playing a little deeper at times.
Alex Rowley and Wesley Cain also had strong showings, and the defence seemed seldom troubled, although I can’t remember seeing so many passbacks in a game for a long time, as Seattle tried to hustle to find a way back into the game.
We can only hope that Sounders striker Dominique Dismuke makes it into the Sounders MLS squad. With 11 goals so far this season, he has a shot down the line. Here’s a guy that the Southsiders will take an instant dislike to. He seems to have a penchant for examining the turf and spent much of the latter stages of the game on his back before some miraculous recoveries. Hallelujah! It’s a Christmas miracle.
It was a tremendous all-round team effort from the guys. Each player played their part and earned plaudits.
The squad had been hit by injuries and illness. Fatigue also played a part, with the squad having taken part in the hectic Florida combine earlier this month and three of the starting eleven also just back from the Canadian U20 training camp.
You do get the feeling that this squad are only going to get stronger as the season goes on, and I can’t wait to not only see how they fare in the playoffs come July, but also in the PDL season from May (the fixtures for which should be out very shortly, for what we've had confirmed will be a 14 game season).
The extra games could certainly take their toll on some players, but ultimately, it will help their development no end. Certainly exciting times lie ahead for this squad and the Whitecaps.
The Whitecaps U16’s were simply outclassed in the second match, going down 4-0. It would have been a lot more if it hadn’t have been for an outstanding ‘Man of the Match’ performance from Caps keeper Marco Carducci.
It looked like men against boys out there at times, but Carducci produced a string of top drawer saves to keep the Caps in it until the second goal went in ten minutes into the second half.
I really can’t speak highly enough about Carducci’s performance. Definitely one for the future and it will interesting to see him develop over the next few years.
Vancouver do have a very talented squad at this level, as shown by their current standing in the league table and only two losses prior to this game, but Seattle have put together an impressive squad who looked physically bigger and more mature in every area of the park.
Most of Seattle’s U16 guys looked older and bigger than the U18 side and some of their guys could easily have passed for 20 and gone straight into one of the local PDL sides.
The Caps clearly have the ability at this level but need to either bulk up or bring in a few bigger boys to compete with the more physical sides. It’s hard to see too many of the current group be able to make the step up to the next age level and compete right at this stage.
The two friendly kickabouts, prior to the two competitive matches, saw the senior U14 side go down 5-0 and the junior U14 side grab a 2-2 draw.
The U18 guys have a Christmas break now, before embarking on four games in California during January and February. Some nice post Christmas weekend breaks await in LA and San Francisco for any Caps fans who fancy heading down to see some entertaining live football action.
They don’t return to Vancouver for a home game until Satruday February 18th, when they are scheduled to take on Irvine Strikers FC at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
Hopefully a few more fans can get out and watch the team next year. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed by the skill or entertainment on display. The players also truly appreciate the support and tell us it spurs them on even more during the games.
Seattle come a calling on Saturday April 28th. It would be nice if the Caps and the Southsiders could mobilize a turnout at SFU to match the enthusiasm of the ECS at Starfire at the weekend.
There’s four months to get this done, so let’s make sure it happens.
#SupportTheFuture
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