Whitecaps Continue Partnership with FC Energie Cottbus
August 25, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that defender Adam Straith has been transferred to German club FC Energie Cottbus for an undisclosed amount, while striker Kyle Porter has extended his loan to play with Cottbus' U-23 side. In addition, midfielder Gagandeep Dosanjh and defender/midfielder Axel Levry have also been loaned to Cottbus' U-23 side, while strikers Jerome Baker and Sahil Sandhu accompany goalkeeper Julien Latendresse-Lévesque in joining Cottbus' U-19 Junior Bundesliga side on loan.
Straith, 18, was sold by the 'Caps to Cottbus after his original season-long loan expired. Straith, who was born in Vancouver, BC, but raised in Victoria, BC, played 12 matches for 1,080 minutes with the Whitecaps United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) team before moving on loan to Cottbus' U-19 side for the start of the 2008-09 season. After a very successful first half of the season with the U-19 side, Straith was promoted to Cottbus' U-23 team for the remainder of the season.
Internationally, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound centre back scored his first U-20 international goal for Canada in a 1-1 friendly draw with Switzerland U-20's on November 26, 2008. In March 2009, the defender was one of seven Whitecaps players to be selected to Canada's 20-player squad for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Playing in Group B, the defender started all three of Canada's matches.
Porter, 19, was on trial with Cottbus' U-19 team before having his loan extended in order to play with the club's U-23 team. Before his loan move to Germany for the 2008-09 season, the native of Mississauga, Ontario, scored five goals and recorded one assist in 10 PDL appearances with the Whitecaps Residency team in 2008. Porter was a member of the Residency program's inaugural squad during the 2007-08 year.
After earning six caps with Canada's U-17 national team, 6-foot, 160-pound striker played his first U-20 match on February 27, 2009, during a friendly versus the Unites States in Sunrise, Florida. In total, Porter has played in four matches with Canada's U-20 squad, including two appearances at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship last March.
Dosanjh, 18, was one of only two Residency players to play in all 16 PDL matches this past season. The 5-foot-5, 135-pound midfielder led the team in scoring with four goals and three assists, with his efforts earning him an honourable mention to the PDL All-Western Conference Team. In 2008, Dosanjh led the team with eight assists in 15 PDL regular season matches. The native of Abbotsford, BC, has earned two caps for Canada at the U-17 international level.
Levry, 19, joins Cottbus' U-23 team after making 11 PDL appearances for 904 minutes of action this summer. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound youngster had three goals and two assists through 23 matches as a freshman at George Washington University in Fairfax, Virginia. Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the native of Fort Washington, Maryland, was a member of the United States U-17 national team and earned 20 international caps between 2005 and 2007.
Baker, 17, joined the Residency program last April before scoring two goals in eight appearances with the Whitecaps PDL squad this season. 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. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Baker has been involved in training camps with Canada's U-16 and U-17 national teams.
Sandhu, 18, scored one goal and recorded two assists in 11 PDL appearances as a member of the Residency side. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound striker was born in Amritsar, India, but raised in Surrey, BC.
Latendresse-Lévesque, 18, was one of four new players to join the Residency program for the start of its second year in September 2008. The native of Chambly, Quebec, posted a goals-against average of 1.571 and a record of two wins, four defeats, and one draw in seven PDL appearances this summer. 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 CONCACAF U-20 Championship this past March.
FC Energie Cottbus is a German professional soccer club based in the Lausitz-Spreewald region of Brandenburg. The men's first team currently plays in Germany's Second Bundesliga.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency is based out of the Whitecaps Training Centre at Simon Fraser University (SFU), with the majority of the players attending Burnaby Central Secondary School.
The elite youth program - for players from U-17 to U-19 - provides a development gateway through to professional opportunities with the Whitecaps men's team and European clubs. The program uses the European club model of identification, development, and placement.
Whitecaps Residency and the Whitecaps youth prospects programs are committed to cooperation and communication with the provincial and Canadian national team programs. Each player's professional commitments, education, club, and national or provincial team responsibilities are carefully considered and coordinated for optimal periodization.
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