After dropping their opening game 4-0 to the Seattle Sounders FC2 on March 29, Whitecaps FC2 (WFC2) responded with a much stronger effort in the rematch, earning a 1-1 draw against their Cascadia Cup rivals on an overcast day at David Sidoo Field. A lively crowd of 2,056 was on hand to witness the hotly contested match.
The Whitecaps' veteran Robert Earnshaw opened the scoring in the 16th minute, moments after the Sounders’ had a goal disallowed through a tight offside call. The 34-year-old veteran, who had recently been loaned to WFC2 from the Whitecaps’ MLS squad, latched on to Damion Lowe’s poor back pass intended for his keeper and clipped the ball past Charlie Lyon in the Seattle net to stake Vancouver the early lead. The Whitecaps came close to doubling their lead two minutes later as Brett Levis’s left-footed strike from 25 yards out beat Lyon but struck the underside of the crossbar, knocking it out.
Seattle responded in the 24th minute when Andy Craven did well to get his head to a Sounders’ corner kick before the ball found its way to centre-back Nick Miele, who volleyed in the equalizer from six yards out. The game settled down following the two goals as both teams struggling to get a clean shot on net. The deadlock was nearly broken after some scintillating skills from another MLSer on loan, 19-year-old winger Kianz Froese. He eluded four Sounders defenders along the touchline with some breathtaking footwork only to have his close range shot headed off the line by Seattle right back Oniel Fisher.
Lyon and Whitecaps’ keeper Paolo Tornaghi made key saves in the game's closing stages to preserve the point for their respective teams. Tornaghi rushed off his line to deny the USL’s second leading scorer, Darwin Jones, in the 69th minute while Lyon climbed high to tip substitute Tyler Rosenlund’s 18-yard volley over the bar in the 82nd.
“It was a difficult game, Seattle came to play, they came to be aggressive,” said Earnshaw. “But we held our own and overall I think we were probably the better side.”
For Earnshaw, a veteran whose career has seen him make over 400 appearances in England’s highest divisions, this game was an important step in maintaining his form for the MLS club. Despite the lengthy resume, Earnshaw has made only two appearances for the MLS club this season, scoring the game winner in one of them.
“I’m a patient man but this is why I came to play here today,” Earnshaw said. “To give myself the chance to get those minutes so when I’m called upon I’ll be ready and I can give my best.”
Stepping into a new squad temporarily, especially one where most players are half your age, can be difficult, but head coach Alan Koch has nothing but admiration for the striker.
“Ernie’s a pro,” said Koch. “He’s obviously done it at all sorts of levels so we’d expect nothing less than for him to come play in a USL game and score. It’s obviously not a guarantee but he showed his class and he showed it very very early in the game today.”
The Whitecaps FC2 next game is May 5, in Los Angeles against the LA Galaxy II before returning home to play against the Oklahoma City Energy on May 17.