Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Caps Defeat Sounders In Reserve League


The Vancouver Whitecaps picked up their first Reserve League victory as they defeated the division leading Seattle Sounders 2-1 at Swangard Stadium.  The goals for the Caps were scored by 1st round pick Michael Nanchoff and Long Tan while the Sounders responded with a goal by Nate Jacqua.  By winning the game the Whitecaps handed the Sounders their first defeat in the league play as they had won all of the seven previous games this season.  Looking to improve their fitness, the starting eleven included both Jay DeMerit and Davide Chiumiento as both of senior team regulars played the first half.


The Caps opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Nanchoff received a pass from Chiumiento in the box and used a left footed strike to beat the Sounders goalkeeper.  The start of the second half saw the Sounders make three substitutions and it was one of them, Nate Jacqua, who received a pass from Lamar Neagle and tied up the score.  That scoreline only lasted four minutes as Nizar Khalfan, after receiving a pass from Philippe Davies, found Tan with a through ball and the Chinese international made no mistake giving the Whitecaps the lead in the 57th minute.  Joe Cannon, who did not start against Chicago, held down the fort for the remainder of the game and made several outstanding stops, especially in the final ten minutes to preserve the win.

Taking in the action was newly appointed coach for the 2012 season Martin Rennie which must have given the players an added boost to do well.  With DeMerit seeing his first game action since July, it would be safe to assume that he would be ready to start against DC United this weekend.  The experiment with Russell Teibert at left back continues with mixed results as he was decent when playing with the captain in the first but struggled in the second half when DeMerit came off.  Other standouts include Nanchoff and Khalfan in the midfield while Tan impressed coming on as a sub and may start pushing for some time with the senior team.  The reserve team will play their next game in Portland against the Timbers on August 21, the day after the two club clash in MLS action.

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