Last Month With WFC2

The ‘Caps are off this weekend, leaving many of us desperate to get our fix from somewhere. Well fear not because I have an update for you from WFC2! For many people it can be easy to forget about WFC2 as they are based out of Thunderbird stadium which is a bit out of the way, or Macleod Park, which is fine if you live in Langley but for the rest of us it only contributes to the sense of disconnection from the team. Because of this problem we’re launching a monthly report on WFC2 to let you know what the ‘Caps young guns have gotten up to. So here are the games from May (and one game in June).

May 5th at Swope Park Rangers

Score: 3-1 (Swope Park)

Line Up: 18.Spencer Richey; 65.Matthew Baldisimo, 51.Sem de Wit ©, 41.Dominick Zator, 62.Deklan Wynne; 64.Thomas Gardner, 42.David Norman Jr. (50.Nazeem Bartman 70’), 30.Ben McKendry; 61.Terran Campbell, 57.Thomas Sanner (54.Gloire Amanda HT), 44.Andy Thoma (63.Kadin Chung 58’)

Summary:

The Thundercaps gave up three first half goals as they fell 3-1 in a rematch of last year’s semi final. Ben McKendry pulled one back from the penalty spot but it wasn’t enough to turn things around.

Standouts: McKendry, Amanda

May 11th at Tulsa Roughnecks

score: 3-1 (Roughnecks)

Line Up: 18.Spencer Richey; 55.Chris Serban, 51.Sem de Wit ©, 58.Will Seymore, 62.Deklan Wynne; 64.Thomas Gardner, 65.Matthew Baldisimo, 42.David Norman Jr., 63.Kadin Chung (50.Nazeem Bartman 60‘), 54.Gloire Amanda (57.Thomas Sanner 81’), 44.Andy Thoma (66.Michael Baldisimo 81’)

Summary: A brilliant first pro goal from Gloire Amanda wasn’t enough to overturn a three goals from Tulsa. The youthful WFC2 side looked very much outmatched against a Tulsa side that included a lot of experience at higher levels.

Standouts: Amanda, Richey

May 14th vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks (Thunderbird Stadium)

Score: 3-1 (WFC2)

Line Up: 40.Sean Melvin; 63.Kadin Chung, 41.Cole Seiler, 51.Sem de Wit ©, 62.Deklan Wynne; 30.Ben McKendry, 58.Will Seymore, 32.Marco Bustos (64.Thomas Gardner 71’), 55.Chris Serban (65.Matthew Baldisimo 85’) 54.Gloire Amanda, 50.Nazeem Bartman (44.Andy Thoma 61’)

Summary:

Goals from Bustos, Amanda and Serban saw WFC2 overtake the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. A late goal from Sean McFarlane was to little to late as the Thundercaps were able to win despite being heavily outshot.

Standouts: Melvin, Amanda

May 28th vs Real Monarchs (Macleod Athletic Park)

Score: 2-1 (Real Monarchs)

Line Up: 70.Paolo Tornaghi; 55.Chris Serban, 41.Dominick Zator, 58.Will Seymore ©, 44.Andy Thoma; 54.Gloire Amanda (50.Nazeem Bartman HT), 42.David Norman Jr. (48.Patrick Metcalfe HT); 64.Thomas Gardner; 63.Kadin Chung (56.Nicolas Apostol 73’), 57.Thomas Sanner, 61.Terran Campbell

Summary: WFC2 were fairly undermanned as many of their players earned call ups for the voyageurs cup game against Montreal. As a result the team looked a little disjointed in what was a pretty dire game. Both Monarchs goals came off of poor marking on corners. Paolo Tornaghi made a number of key saves to keep the score closer then the game really was. But Terran Campbell did score his first professional goal, Good for him.

Standouts: Tornaghi

June 4th at Portland Timbers 2

Score: 1-0 (WFC2)

Line Up: 18.Spencer Richey; 63.Kadin Chung, 41.Cole Seiler, 51.Sem de Wit ©, 44.Andy Thoma; 30.Ben McKendry, 65.Matthew Baldisimo (58.Will Seymore 83’), 32.Marco Bustos; 64.Thomas Gardner, 47.Kyle Greig, 61.Terran Campbell (55.Chris Serban 70’) (50.Nazeem Bartman 80‘)

Summary: another penalty goal from Marco Bustos put WFC2 over T2. It’s always nice to get one over on Cascadia rivals, even at the USL level. It was a hard fought game with very few chances in the first half. In fact the Thundercaps haven’t been able to replicate some of the impressive ball movement that we saw from them last year. What chances were created mostly came through Thomas Gardner who played a good one two which he wasn’t able to finish, and put through McKendry who won the penalty. Spencer Richey also made a number of key saves and Sem de Wit made some excellent blocks.

Standouts: Richey, Bustos, Gardner, de Wit

Leading Scorers:

Goals:

Bustos: 3

Sanner: 2

McKendry: 2

Amanda: 2

Wynne: 1

Thoma: 1

Serban: 1

Campbell: 1

*Assists:

Amanda: 3

McKendry: 2

Seiler: 1

Campbell: 1

Seymore: 1

Thoma: 1

Apostol: 1

A look ahead to next month:

June 10th at Phoenix Rising (6:30 pm PT)

Phoenix Rising feature a number of noteworthy players, including Liga MX legend Omar Bravo, Didier Drogba, Peter Ramage, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Luke Rooney, Eric Avila, and Former Whitecap Matt Watson. This will be a tough test for the ‘Caps young guns as Phoenix have invested a lot of money in their squad for a USL team. Sure many of the players are past their prime but this is still a deadly squad at the USL level and a chance for young players to show they can play against these high level players. This game takes place on an off weak for the senior team so I highly recommend watching it.

June 17th at Sacramento Republic (8:00 pm PT)

Sacramento Republic are perennially near the top of the USL table. They are only in 6th so far this year but still represent a tough challenge. Notable players include former MLSers Julius James and Adam Moffat.

June 24th Vs OKC Energy (Thunderbird Stadium. 3:00 pm PT)

OKC sit near the bottom of the western conference. WFC2 currently sit 8th (the lowest playoff spot) in the Western conference so it’s important to pick up points against teams like this. Notable players include former Sounder Andy Craven, and Danish SuperLiga veteran Phillip Rasmussen.

*A note on assists: I’m pretty liberal with my awarding of assists. I include shots where the rebound is scored, winning penalties, and playing passes which are deflected to someone who scores. Basically doing something good that leads to a goal wins you an assist. I think this makes it a more useful metric for this kind of report as it tells you how the players are doing rather then who fits a limited definition of an assist.