The last time many of us saw Whitecaps FC2 in person was July 24, as they solemnly walked off the field of Thunderbird Stadium on the heels of an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Tulsa Roughnecks.
Following that loss, a low point during an up and down inaugural season in the USL, the ‘Caps headed out on a month long, four game road trip that had all the makings of a colossal disaster. The team had won only once all season on the road and were coming off their worst outing of the year against Tulsa, a major confidence blow for such a young team.
July 31 @ Tulsa Roughnecks
In a rematch of the 4-0 Roughnecks win from the week before, WFC2’s performance took a drastic change for the better as the visitors emerged with a 3-1 victory, only their second road win of the year. After some crucial early saves from Marco Carducci, Marco Bustos would find the back of the net twice in the first half to stake his side to the 2-0 lead. After Tulsa pulled one back half way through the second frame, Victor Blasco restored Vancouver’s lead minutes later with one of his trademark runs down the left flank. The Spaniard burned the Tulsa full backs on the counter attack before firing his fourth goal of the year into the top corner.
August 8 @ Seattle Sounders2
Coming off of their breakout road performance in Tulsa, the young ‘Caps continued their strong play by producing a shocking 3-0 win against one of the top teams in the Western Conference in Seattle. With the confidence riding high after his two goal outburst in the previous match, Bustos continued his red hot form with another brace while Andre Lewis added the third Vancouver goal. Bustos’ efforts earned him back to back USL Team of the Week appointments. The win momentarily breathed life into the ‘Caps slim playoff hopes, however the slip ups in their remaining matches would be costly.
August 16 @ Portland Timbers2
After two straight brilliant performances, Whitecaps2 came crashing back to earth with a 3-1 loss to their west coast rivals. Kharlton Belmar scored his second and third goals of the season against WFC2 with markers on either side of halftime. Gavin White made it 3-0 for the home side before Caleb Clarke put in his team leading seventh of the year in the games’ final minutes. The win moved Portland ahead of Vancouver in the Western Conference standings and put the damper on what was beginning to be an excellent road trip for the ‘Caps.
August 22 @ Arizona SC
Despite the set back against Portland, Vancouver headed into their final road game of the regular season with high spirits having already claimed six out of a possibly nine points during their trip and showed significant growth as a team. Unfortunately for Coach Koch and his team, the end of the road trip meant weary legs and WFC2 fell for a second straight game, this time 2-0. Former Whitecap Long Tan converted a header shortly after halftime before Arizona doubled their lead through Aaron Dennis with eight minutes remaining to round out the scoring. The loss meant a disappointing end to a gruelling road trip that began with so much promise.
WFC2 stand in the same spot in the standings as they did when they left that gloomy night against Tulsa, seven points out of the playoffs with too many teams to catch. However for a team with the mantra of player development such as Whitecaps2, the month long journey should be seen as a resounding success due to the growth of their young players. The team doubled its number of road wins and put up quality wins in tough situations in Tulsa and Seattle. All the while, players such as Marco Bustos and Victor Blasco continued to assert themselves as threats to crack the Whitecaps MLS roster sooner rather than later.
Whitecaps2 close out their season with three straight home games beginning September 6 against Sacramento Republic FC at Thunderbird Stadium.