Whitecaps FC suffer defeat
May 29, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
ROCHESTER, NY - In the second game of a three-match road trip, Vancouver Whitecaps FC (3W-2L-3D) suffered a 2-1 away defeat to USL Conference club Rochester Rhinos (4W-3L-2D) in the USSF D-2 Pro League on Saturday evening.
Second-half strikes by Aaron Pitchkolan and Anthony Hamilton gave the Rhinos all three points at Marina Auto Stadium on Rochester, New York, as Bob Lilley's side ended a run of two straight defeats in the league and avenged last weekend's loss to the 'Caps in Vancouver.
Though Ricardo Sanchez replied with a fine free-kick strike in the dying stages, the Whitecaps struggled to create much during the weekend contest in Upstate New York. The result was the Whitecaps second straight league defeat on the road and the second time this season that the Blue and White have conceded more than one goal in a competitive match.
Coming three days after their disappointing draw at Montreal Impact in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made four changes to his line-up in Rochester, starting with his attack line. Mauritanian teenager Doudou Toure made his first men's team start alongside Marlon James, as the two strikers replaced Marcus Haber and Cornelius Stewart. Luca Bellisomo went from central midfield to centre back in place of Greg Janicki, with Jonny Steele coming into the centre of midfield, as a result. There was also a first start of 2010 for Philippe Davies on the right-hand side of midfield for Justin Moose.
On a warm and sunny evening in The Flower City, the home crowd were treated to a first half that was dominated by the Rhinos, as Rochester seemed determined to make up for last Saturday's disappointing performance at Swangard Stadium.
Ironically, the first real opportunity of the match fell to the visitors on seven minutes. Wes Knight's cross from the right flank struck the Rhinos crossbar before the ball bounced out to Steele. The former Rochester player then played in a curling cross that nearly found Doudou Toure at the far post, but the ball just eluded the young forward.
The early chance was the closest that the Whitecaps came to scoring before the break, as the Rhinos proceeded to press their Canadian guests for much of the opening 45 minutes. On 12 minutes, Vancouver native Tyler Rosenlund found Hamilton with a forward ball from the halfway line. The Rochester striker eluded the attentions of Bellisomo before forcing a good save from Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly with his legs. Two minutes later, an unmarked Pitchkolan got his lines all wrong after heading a Ryan Heins cross wide of the target.
While they looked assured defensively and had some spells of possession, the Whitecaps were not as potent of an attacking force as their hosts. On 32 minutes, Rochester created another fine chance when Frankie Sanfilippo struck a shot just wide after Rosenlund fed a neat through ball to the defender on the edge of Vancouver box. Four minutes later, Rhinos striker Darren Spicer headed Sanfilippo's cross right into the arms of Nolly.
Fittingly, the last chance of the half fell to Rochester on 41 minutes, but the impressive Bellisomo did well to block away Heins' low strike in the Whitecaps box.
It meant that both clubs went to the halftime break level at 0-0.
Having failed to strike a single shot on target in the first half, Thordarson changed his attack pairing for the start of the second half, as Haber and Stewart replaced James and Doudou Toure.
It seemed to make little difference to the flow of the match, as Rochester picked up where they left off and created more chances. On 54 minutes, Jamie Franks' corner from the left was headed wide of the far post by defender Tyler Bellamy, while just past the hour mark, Franks himself had a shot deflect into the arms of Nolly.
Although Thordarson added more fresh legs in the form of Takashi Hirano and fit-again Nizar Khalfan to Saturday's action, Rochester remained the more threatening side. On 68 minutes, Spicer nearly put Knight's poor clearance back on target with a reaction strike, while Hamilton drove a Rhinos indirect free kick wide of the target three minutes later.
Undeterred, Rochester's perseverance to find a breakthrough finally paid off on 74 minutes following a Franks corner from the right. Some poor Whitecaps defending allowed the unmarked Pitchkolan to head the ball past a diving Nolly for a 1-0 Rhinos lead. It was Pitchkolan's first goal of the season.
The goal was the least that the home side deserved for their efforts on Saturday, and with Vancouver looking for a reply when Sanchez came on for Steele in midfield, the match was ended as a contest on 84 minutes following a fortuitous deflected goal by Hamilton.
Tsiskaridze's clearing throw-in down the left flank found the head of Rhinos right fullback Sanfilippo. His header was then flicked on by teammate Ian Bennett to Hamilton at the corner of the Whitecaps box. The Rochester striker then struck a shot that deflected off the challenging Bellisomo before looping over the head of Nolly and into the far corner of the net for a 2-0 Rochester lead.
Hamilton's goal assured that the points were going to Lilley's side, but Vancouver did make the final moments of the match interesting, as Sanchez scored his first-ever Whitecaps goal from one of his patented free kicks in the 91st minute. The Mexican's left-footed set-piece curled around the Rhinos wall and past a diving Neal Kitson in the Rochester goal to make it 2-1.
The goal resulted in the home side needing to hold on to their one-goal advantage during the three minutes of time added on. In fact, the Whitecaps nearly came away with an unlikely draw after Nelson Akwari nearly got on the end of Knight's forward ball into the Rhinos box. Kitson, however, was on hand to make an important save and secure the victory for Rochester.
• Discuss this story on the U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 message board...
U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from May 29, 2010
- Baltimore Stumbles 2-0 at Home to League-Leading Aztex - Crystal Palace Baltimore
- Whitecaps FC suffer defeat - Vancouver Whitecaps
- NSC Minnesota Stars Beat AC St. Louis 3-2 - Minnesota United FC
- Impact Faces Carolina RailHawks Sunday - Montreal Impact
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
