MLS Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Residency Players on Trial in Germany

Published on July 16, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC News Release


VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that Residency striker Jerome Baker and midfielder Sahil Sandhu will join goalkeeper Julien Latendresse-Lévesque in a one-month trial with FC Energie Cottbus' U-19 Junior Bundesliga team. Residency midfielder Alex Semenets, meanwhile, is currently on trial with the U-23 side of German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Baker, Latendresse-Lévesque, and Sandhu will arrive in Cottbus, Germany, on July 19, while Semenets has been on trial with Hoffenheim since departing Vancouver on June 28.

Last May, all four players were part of the Residency team's two-week trip to Germany, which concluded at the INSEL-CUP junior international tournament, where the Whitecaps finished in seventh place.

Sandhu, 18, first joined the Whitecaps as a member of the club's U-13 Boys team that played in the United Soccer Leagues Super Y-League in 2004. He led the 'Caps to their first-ever Super Y-League North American championship title when he scored the match-winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Schulz Academy in Orlando, Florida, on November 23, 2004. Last year, Sandhu scored five goals for the Whitecaps U-17 Boys Prospects team during a spring tour of the Netherlands, with those goals coming against some top U-17 sides from Denmark, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. This year, the 5-foot-10, 155-pound striker has scored one goal and recorded two assists in 11 matches as a member of the Whitecaps USL Premier Development League (PDL) side.

Born in Amritsar, India, but raised in Surrey, BC, Sandhu played youth-level soccer for the Whalley Soccer Club. As a member of Whalley Celtics U-16 side, the midfielder guided the team to a British Columbia U-16 provincial championship title and a fourth-place finish at the Canadian U-16 Club Championship in Sherwood Park, Alberta, in 2007.

Baker, 17, joined the Residency program last April before scoring two goals in eight appearances with the Whitecaps PDL squad. The 6-foot, 160-pound striker also scored six goals in four matches during the Residency team's two-week trip to Germany last May. Those goals included a hat-trick in a 5-2 friendly win over the U-19 Junior Bundesliga side of Hansa Rostock on May 26 and both goals in the Residency's 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin's U-19 Junior Bundesliga team on May 27.

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Baker has been involved in training camps with Canada's U-16 and U-17 national teams.

Latendresse-Lévesque, 18, was one of four new players to join Whitecaps Residency for the start of the second year in September 2008. The native of Chambly, Quebec, recorded two wins, four defeats, and one draw in seven PDL appearances for a goals against average of 1.571 this season.

After being invited to the Canadian U-20 national team training camp in Florida in December 2008, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound goalkeeper was one of seven Whitecaps players to be named in Canada's 20-player squad for the 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship this past March.

Semenets, 19, joined Whitecaps Residency in the program's inaugural year of 2007-2008. During the 2009 PDL season, the 5-foot-8, 140-pound midfielder scored one goal and recorded one assist in four league matches.

Last March, Semenets joined Residency teammates Gagandeep Dosanjh and Simon Thomas in making the Whitecaps men's team's historic preseason trip to the United Republic of Tanzania. He was a late substitute in the 2-1 victory over Tanzanian Premier League outfit Simba Sports Club on March 12 before coming off the substitutes' bench again in the goalless draw versus Tanzania's national team on March 14.

As a member of Canada's U-17 national team, Semenets earned 15 caps between April 2006 and May 2007. The winger made his international debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Northern Ireland on April 21, 2006, before scoring his first international goal in a 2-1 victory over Switzerland at the Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland on April 28, 2006.

The quartet join Whitecaps Residency players Kyle Porter and Adam Straith in making the move to Germany in a bid to further develop their professional careers. Last summer, Porter and Straith went on trial with Energie Cottbus' U-19 Junior Bundesliga side before staying with the club for the 2008-09 season. At present, Porter is with Cottbus' U-23 team, while Straith is training with Cottbus' senior side of the 2.Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, three Residency players have left the program. Defender Greg Smith has returned from a season-long loan with Germany's Energie Cottbus U-19's to join the men's soccer program at the University of British Columbia. He will be joined at UBC by defender William Hyde, who completed a two-year spell with the Residency program this summer. Midfielder Evan Taylor has returned to Jamaican club Reno FC following a loan spell with Whitecaps Residency.

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