Whitecaps Set For Sounders At Swangard
March 3, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (1W-2L-0D in pre-season) host Major League Soccer (MLS) club Seattle Sounders FC (3W-1L-0D in pre-season) in a pre-season friendly match on Saturday afternoon.
In what will be the first match of the club's final season at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC, Teitur Thordarson's side continue their buildup towards the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League season by hosting the Sounders for the first time in British Columbia since their move to MLS last year. Saturday's match is also the second meeting between these two Interstate 5 rivals this pre-season. On February 11 in Casa Grande, Arizona, Seattle came from two goals down to defeat the Blue and White 3-2 at the Grande Sports World facility. Their first encounter came on February 22, 2009, as the MLS Sounders defeated the 'Caps 4-0 in a closed-door friendly match at Seattle's Qwest Field.
Saturday's friendly between the Whitecaps and Sounders at Swangard kicks off at 4 p.m. PT. All tickets are $15, plus applicable service charges, and are available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centres, online at ticketmaster.ca, and by phone at 604.280.4400 or 1.800.663.9311.
This weekend's match will also continue a long-standing rivalry between these two Pacific Northwest clubs, with Vancouver set to join MLS as the league's 17th team in 2011. Between 1974 and 2008, the Whitecaps and Sounders had no less than 111 competitive meetings between each other. The first 28 matches took place in the old North American Soccer League between 1974 and 1983, with the 'Caps recording 17 wins and 11 defeats versus the Sounders. Soccer fans in Seattle and Vancouver then had to wait until 1994 for the rivalry to be renewed, with the Sounders claiming the upper hand during 83 meetings in the former United Soccer Leagues First Division (USL-1). Between 1994 and 2008, the Sounders recorded 43 wins, 25 defeats, and 15 draws versus the Whitecaps. As a result, Seattle lead Vancouver with an all-time record of 54 wins, 42 defeats, and 15 draws in 111 competitive contests.
WHITECAPS
Saturday's match leads Thordarson's side into the final phase of preparations for the 2010 season, with the 'Caps looking to claim success in the USSF D-2 Pro League and in the third edition of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
Training for the 2010 season began as early as last November, with the squad having worked for four weeks before returning in the New Year for a six-week training phase that culminated in a two-week training camp in Arizona. During their stay in the desert, the Whitecaps not only played the Sounders, but two more MLS clubs in Chicago Fire on February 15 (4-1 defeat) and defending league champions Real Salt Lake on February 20 (2-1 victory).
With the season opener against NSC Minnesota Stars still about six weeks away, Saturday's game is the first opportunity for Whitecaps fans to see Thordarson's new-look squad. Several new additions have been brought in by the former Iceland international, including three 2009 USL-1 All-League players in Nelson Akwari (defender), Ricardo Sánchez (midfielder), and Jonny Steele (midfielder). Thordarson has also signed Canadian international Chris Williams, former Miami FC defender Zourab Tsiskaridze, and former MLS players Greg Janicki (defender) and Blake Wagner (defender). Coupled with a number of returning veterans and promising talent from the club's Residency program, the Whitecaps look to make their 24th and final season at Swangard their most memorable yet. CLICK HERE to view the complete Whitecaps roster.
Thordarson has been pleased with his team's progress to this stage. "Things have been going very well. The players have been training very hard since the beginning of January," he told whitecapsfc.com. "We have had some very good pre-season matches against quality opposition, which is something we've never had before at this time of year. MLS teams are very good in possession and move the ball around at a higher pace to what we are used to. With MLS on the horizon, we wanted to give our players the chance to face teams of that calibre."
New 'Caps signing Steele may be a doubt for Saturday's friendly, as he is questionable with a knee problem. In the meantime, Thordarson's squad returned to training on Monday after taking last week off. They will train through the rest of this week at the Whitecaps Training Centre on the campus of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC.
SOUNDERS
Outside of the Chicago Fire's memorable 1998 season, where they claimed both the MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt US Open Cup titles as an MLS expansion club, Seattle could not have for asked for more from their inaugural MLS campaign in 2009. Under the guidance of two-time MLS Coach of the Year Sigi Schmid, the Sounders not only made the playoffs in their first year of existence, they also claimed a spot in the 2010-11 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League after winning last year's US Open Cup title. The Sounders finished third in the MLS Western Conference standings with a record of 12W-7L-11D before falling 1-0 on aggregate to Houston Dynamo in the first round of the playoffs.
Schmid's squad includes some notable players. Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was a member of the 2009 MLS Best XI and a former standout at Arsenal FC in the English Premier League, while team captain Kasey Keller is one of American soccer's most decorated goalkeepers. The Washington State native spent a large portion of his career playing in England, Spain, and Germany before returning home to join the Sounders. The squad also includes the talented Colombian and 2009 MLS Newcomer of the Year Fredy Montero, as well as five players that appeared for the Sounders during their days in USL-1. They include goalkeeper Chris Eylander, defenders Taylor Graham and Zach Scott, midfielder Sanna Nyassi, and striker Roger Levesque. Former Whitecaps centre back Jeff Parke is also training with the Emerald City outfit at present.
Seattle's weekend visit to Vancouver comes after a recent trip to Spain, where they competed in La Manga Cup II. The Sounders earned a fifth-place finish after claiming two wins and a defeat versus three top-flight Norwegian clubs in Rosenborg BK, Stabæk IF, and SK Brann. Following Saturday's game at Swangard, the Sounders will complete their seven-match pre-season schedule by hosting Pacific Northwest rivals Portland Timbers on Thursday, March 11, before visiting fellow MLS club Colorado Rapids on Friday, March 19. Seattle will raise the curtain on the 2010 MLS campaign when they host expansion club Philadelphia Union at Qwest Field on Thursday, March 25.
Thordarson expects another tough match with the Sounders. "Seattle are a very good team," he said. "We faced them nearly three weeks ago in Arizona and played well against them. On Saturday, however, I am expecting the Sounders to be in better form than our last meeting. They will have some of their injured players back and they are a little further along in their pre-season, so I'm expecting a very tough game."
MLS CLUBS IN VANCOUVER
Saturday's friendly will be the fifth time that the Whitecaps have played an MLS opponent at Swangard. In 2001 and 2003, Vancouver hosted San Jose Earthquakes in friendly matches in Burnaby, BC, while in the 2008 and 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship tournaments, Toronto FC paid a visit to Swangard. It will also be the seventh time that an MLS club have played the Whitecaps in BC, with San Jose Clash (Abbotsford, 1998) and Los Angeles Galaxy (BC Place, 2007) also making trips to the province. In May 2008, the Whitecaps played the Galaxy for a second time at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.
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