Whitecaps FC Way too much for University Of Victoria 5-0
March 20, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC cruised to a 5-0 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes in Saturday's pre-season friendly match on Vancouver Island.
Dever Orgill and Alex Semenets each struck twice for the USSF D-2 Pro League club, as the Whitecaps proved too strong for their university hosts in Victoria, BC. Substitute Justin Moose added a fifth goal in the dying stages for the Blue and White.
With a little more than three weeks left before the opening match of the 2010 regular season, Whitecaps fans will have been well encouraged by Saturday's performance in the British Columbia provincial capital, as Bruce Wilson's young Vikes squad struggled to contain their attack-minded foes.
There were three changes to the Whitecaps line-up from the starting XI that hosted Major League Soccer (MLS) club Seattle Sounders FC at Swangard Stadium on March 6. Zourab Tsiskaridze replaced the injured Takashi Hirano at left fullback, while Wes Knight took the place of Ricardo Sanchez to play on the right side of midfield. In attack, Semenets replaced Cornelius Stewart to partner fellow Whitecaps Residency product Orgill in attack.
A decent spring day greeted both sets of players and a large crowd of 1,650 at UVic's Centennial Stadium. They saw a first half that was dominated by the 'Caps, as their pace and sharpness kept the Vikes on the back foot for large parts of the opening 45 minutes.
In fact, it only took Teitur Thordarson's side nine minutes to break the deadlock, as Orgill scored the first of his two goals. The Jamaican youth international got on the end of a fine forward ball from left-sided winger Ansu Toure before splitting the UVic backline and slipping his shot past experienced Vikes goalkeeper Daniel Kilpatrick.
Having claimed the early lead, the visitors kept pressing their Canadian Interuniversity Sport opponents. On 11 minutes, Semenets was well denied by Kilpatrick after the UVic number one made a fine point-blank save from the Mississauga, Ontario, native.
A minute later, however, the Whitecaps made their pressure count again, as Orgill scored for a second time. Whitecaps captain and Victoria native Martin Nash played in a corner from the right that found Semenets at the far post. The striker's header back across goal fell kindly for Orgill, who converted with ease for a 2-0 lead.
Two goals down, the Vikes showed plenty of spirit to try and get back into the match, but the qualities of the 'Caps restricted the reigning Canada West men's soccer champions to limited amounts of possession and opportunities. Just before the midway point of the half, Orgill flashed a fierce drive just wide of the target, as the talented Caribbean youngster went searching for his hat-trick.
There was little in terms of notable action in the later stages of the first half, with the 'Caps taking a well-deserved two-goal lead into the halftime break.
Looking to give more of his squad some valuable game action, Thordarson made four changes for the start of the second half. Dan Pelc replaced Jay Nolly in goal, while Luca Bellisomo came in for Greg Janicki at centre back. In midfield, Moose replaced Knight on the right flank, while Blake Wagner replaced Toure on the left-hand side.
The Whitecaps picked up where they left off, with Orgill forcing another good save from Kilpatrick on 53 minutes. Four minutes later, they claimed their third goal of the match, as Semenets struck home a full volley in the Vikes box after Moose headed the ball into the youngster's path.
More substitutions were made by the 'Caps, as Marlon James and Sanchez came on for a late run-out. On 67 minutes, James supplied Semenets with his second goal of the game. The striker latched on to a fine through ball from the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines international before neatly chipping his finish past the committed Kilpatrick to make it 4-0.
In complete control of proceedings, Sanchez was then unlucky not to score directly from his inswinging corner on 77 minutes, as his set-piece deflected off the underside of the Vikes crossbar. Five minutes later, Kilpatrick did well again after stopping a shot from James.
However, Vancouver's skill and pace proved too much again for UVic, as Moose easily converted the fifth Whitecaps goal from close range on 83 minutes.
At the other end, the Vikes struggled to match their professional adversaries for quality goalscoring chances. Their two best opportunities of the half fell to Argentine-born midfielder Miguel Romeo, but Pelc proved equal to the South American's free kick efforts.
The final whistle confirmed a comfortable win for Thordarson's side. The former Iceland international was pleased with Saturday's effort from his players. "Overall, I thought it was a good game from us today," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We played some very good soccer at times, and the goals we scored were very well taken. For me, it was very encouraging to not only see this performance from the team as a whole, but also individually from our players as well."
The Whitecaps return home before travelling to Seattle, Washington, for 'MLS First Kick' and the league's season-opening match between the Sounders and expansion club Philadelphia Union at Qwest Field on Thursday night. On Friday morning, the Blue and White will take on Pacific Northwest rivals Portland Timbers in their next friendly match at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
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