Whitecaps Head To Carolina
September 25, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (1W-0L-0D in the playoffs) look to advance to the USL First Division semifinals when they visit Carolina RailHawks (0W-1L-0D in the playoffs) in the second leg of their first round playoff series on Sunday afternoon.
Teitur Thordarson's side took a positive step towards the defence of their USL-1 championship title after claiming a 1-0 aggregate lead in Thursday's first leg at Swangard Stadium. Randy Edwini-Bonsu's first-ever goal for the 'Caps men's team means the Blue and White take a slim advantage to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. "We know it's going to be tough down there," Whitecaps captain Martin Nash said after the first leg. "We've only done half the job at this stage, so we're going to have to go there and give the same effort as we did tonight to have a chance. The last two times we played down there this year, it was really hot, so we couldn't take full advantage of their big pitch. Hopefully, it will be a bit cooler on Sunday, and that it will allow us to move the ball around well. If we can play like we did in the first match by controlling the pace of the game and keeping possession, then we'll be dangerous."
Thordarson's travelling squad includes midfielder Nizar Khalfan. The Tanzanian international has recovered from the ankle injury he picked up in the September 13 home win over Austin Aztex.
The RailHawks, meanwhile, will need to do something they have yet to achieve in three previous playoff matches since becoming a USL-1 club. That will be to claim a postseason victory on Sunday. Carolina head coach Martin Rennie is sure to play a more attack-minded side in the second leg, with midfielder Joseph Kabwe and strikers Sallieu Bundu and Gregory Richardson likely to factor in the young Scotman's selections after the influential trio did not travel to Vancouver for the first leg.
Though they trail on aggregate, the former Cleveland City Stars coach remains confident of turning the series around on their home patch. "Even if it was 0-0, everyone would think that's fantastic, but we'd still have to score at home," Rennie told the RailHawks' official website. "Lots of times, if a team loses 1-0 away from home, they feel confident going into the next game. It's not anything to get scared about. We know now we have to go home and score, and that's what we would have expected anyway. We're looking forward to getting back home and having a go at it on Sunday."
Should the Whitecaps get past the RailHawks and advance to the playoff semifinals next week, they will face Pacific Northwest rivals and USL-1 regular season champions Portland Timbers over two legs. The first leg would take place at Swangard on Thursday, October 1, while the second leg would be played at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, October 4.
OTHER PLAYOFF SERIES
The Whitecaps are not the only lower seeded club with an advantage in the first round of the USL-1 playoffs, as Montreal Impact and Rochester Rhinos put themselves in good positions to advance to the semis after first-leg wins on Thursday. Montreal take a 2-0 aggregate lead to South Carolina on Sunday after defeating ten-man Charleston Battery in their first match at Stade Saputo. Former Whitecaps midfielder David Testo scored the winner for the Impact. The second leg at Charleston's Blackbaud Stadium will be live on Fox Sports World Canada at 4 p.m. PDT. Rochester, meanwhile, have a one-goal aggregate lead to work with in the Caribbean after a 2-1 first-leg win over ten-man Puerto Rico Islanders. The second leg at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, will be live on USLlive.com at 3 p.m. PDT.
PLAYOFF FORMAT
Vancouver's first-round playoff match-up with Carolina is a two-match, aggregate score series. If the aggregate score is tied at the conclusion of Sunday's second leg, then two 15-minute extra-time periods will be played to determine the series winner. If both sides remain tied at the end of extra time, then the series will be decided using a penalty shootout. *Unlike European club competitions or the CONCACAF Champions League, the 'Away Goals' rule is NOT in effect as a tiebreaker in the USL-1 playoffs*.
Sunday's first round, second leg, playoff match between the Whitecaps and Carolina RailHawks from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, kicks off at 2 p.m. PDT and can be seen live on USLlive.com.
USL First Division Stories from September 25, 2009
- Whitecaps Head To Carolina - Vancouver Whitecaps
- RailHawks return home needing 2-goal win - North Carolina FC
- Edwini-Bonsu Lifts Whitecaps in Playoff Opener - Vancouver Whitecaps
- RailHawks drop first leg 1-0 at Vancouver - North Carolina FC
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