Cascadia youth weekend wrap: Whitecaps, Washington Premier dominate in elite leagues
By Liviu Bird
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Vancouver Whitecaps Residency program had another strong weekend, winning three of four matches at home against the San Jose Earthquakes and Cal Odyssey.
After a short delay in kickoff time, with the Earthquakes under-18s stuck at the border for longer than they expected, the ‘Caps U-18s took it to them early in the match on Saturday. Spencer DeBoice scored a goal in the seventh minute, followed up by a well-worked free kick finished by Yassin Essa.
In the run of play, Vancouver showed why it is at the top of the table in the U-18 age group, and one of the strongest squads in the league. Its possession emphasis flourished, making the Earthquakes players look like cones on the field in a training exercise.
Frequent shouts of “keep it” from front to back set the tone for the well-organized Canadians. Marco Bustos added a third goal in the 75th minute. Rodrigo Gonzalez Villamar spoiled the shutout in stoppage time, but by then, the result was settled.
The U-16s fell to the Earthquakes, 3-2, but both squads won on Sunday: the U-18s winning emphatically against Cal Odyssey, 5-1, before the U-16s pulled out a 2-1 victory on campus at University of British Columbia.
Look for a full-length feature on the Vancouver Whitecaps youth system, coming soon on Cascadia Soccer Wire.
• In the battle between two Seattle-area ECNL clubs, Washington Premier FC won four out of five against Crossfire Premier.
Full results: Crossfire Premier U-14 2-3 Washington Premier U-14, Crossfire Premier U-15 0-1 Washington Premier U-15, Crossfire Premier U-16 0-1 Washington Premier U-16, Crossfire Premier U-17 0-1 Washington Premier U-17, Crossfire Premier U-18 2-0 Washington Premier U-18
• Crossfire split four games in the USSDA, defeating Cal Odyssey in both age groups on Saturday before falling hard to the San Jose Earthquakes.
Full results: Crossfire Premier U-16 3-1 Cal Odyssey U-16, Crossfire Premier U-18 2-0 Cal Odyssey U-18, Crossfire Premier U-16 1-3 San Jose Earthquakes U-16, Crossfire Premier U-18 1-7 San Jose Earthquakes U-18
