Tag Archives: Whitecaps

Articles, Soccer

Koffie strike up for MLS Goal of the Week

Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Gershon Koffie scored the season's opening goal on Saturday, helping the home side to a 1-0 defeat of Toronto FC. Photo borrowed from www.whitecapsfc.com
Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Gershon Koffie scored the season’s opening goal on Saturday, helping the home side to a 1-0 defeat of Toronto FC. Photo borrowed from www.whitecapsfc.com

Gershon Koffie has had quite a week. He signed a contract extension with Vancouver Whitecaps FC, received his Canadian Permanent Residency papers, and finished off a lovely six-man passing play to score the opening goal of the 2013 season at BC Place. Now he’s been nominated for the MLS Goal of the Week award, to be voted upon by fans across the league.

Koffie pounded home a right footer after Daigo Kobayashi Maru’d him a one-touch pass amid all kinds of red Toronto FC shirts. (That’s not just some lame Star Trek reference. Count them in the video below, you’ll see eight TFC players watching four Whitecaps make pretty passes to each other in the danger area. The Maru thing? Yeah, that’s me geeking out.)

More, including video of the league’s top five goals, after the jump. Hey, while you’re here, why not give a lousy five bucks to my Ride to Conquer Cancer campaign?

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Koffie strike up for MLS Goal of the Week →

Articles, Soccer

Diagonal, you say?

Nigel Reo-Coker sports the newly unveiled Vancouver Whitecaps FC kit for 2013-14. Image unceremoniously filched from www.whitecapsfc.com.
Nigel Reo-Coker sports the newly unveiled Vancouver Whitecaps FC kit for 2013-14. Image unceremoniously filched from www.whitecapsfc.com.

Earlier on this Whitecaps Wednesday, we here at Pucked in the Head predicted that the new kit unveiled just a few short hours ago would be only slightly changed from last season’s uniform. Indeed, we wrote here that:

“A new kit reveal goes down this very evening, and while the jersey will almost certainly still feature a massive corporate nod to a telecommunications company renowned for spotty service Bell, we have reason to believe they may have changed the stripes on the front! (I know, I know! Squee, and all that!)”

Previously, the primary uniform featured horizontal stripes across the belly, making them — especially the white one — a huge hit with fans who have a little extra in the midsection. We can now verify that the stripes on the front of the Whitecaps primary jersey… dude, they’re diagonal! Check the video below.

(Oh, and Jay Demerit apparently has some kind of bizarre skin condition.)

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.
Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Wednesday

WhitecapsWednesday

It’s the last Whitecaps Wednesday before the 2013-14 season begins, and there’s so much optimism surrounding the team that the MLS is considering rule changes to limit the number of championships any one team can win in a row. The Whitecaps went 5-2-1 in pre-season play in Arizona and South Carolina, sending footballgasms thundering throughout the Lower Mainland.

So what has local fans so excited? Building off of the club’s first-ever playoff appearance, the Whitecaps have made several high profile moves to encourage optimism. Midfielder Gershon Koffie received Canadian residency and a contract extension, meaning the Caps will now have an extra international spot on the roster and Koffie will be in Vancouver for the long term.

More after the jump, including tassels, brothers and sisters!

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday →

Articles, Soccer

Seven Things We Want To See From The Whitecaps This Year

WhitecapsWednesdayA movement has been afoot of late on the twitter to make every Wednesday a #WhitecapsWednesday. We at Pucked in the Head love ourselves a good hashtag, so we’re planning on going blue and white every Wednesday for the 2013 MLS season. It’s been an exciting couple of months in Whitecaps land, and the consensus is that manager Martin Rennie has finally divested himself of all the unwanted detritus of the Thordarsen/Soehn era. Here’s a look ahead at seven things we’re eagerly anticipating this year. Continue reading Seven Things We Want To See From The Whitecaps This Year →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps vs. Galaxy Preview

These fans have more to cheer about than a longshot playoff game against the reigning league champs. They actually have evidence that Vancouver has some good soccer in their future. Photo stolen gratuitously from the web. Source: Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images North America

Well, it’s just about time. Tonight, at 7:30, every bloody reporter who’s ever heard of Major League Soccer can finally stop talking about how the Whitecaps ARE the first Canadian team in the MLS playoffs, and, in all likelihood, start talking about how the Whitecaps WERE the first Canadian team in the MLS playoffs. Continue reading Whitecaps vs. Galaxy Preview →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps FC 4, Chivas USA 0

It was a must-win for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Wednesday night, as they sat just two points ahead of FC Dallas for the fifth and final playoff spot in the MLS Western Conference. Luckily, they were hosting a woeful Chivas USA squad that was burdened with a franchise-worst losing skid into BC Place. The Caps didn’t disappoint, dominating play from kick-off to the final whistle, and putting four goals — FOUR!! —into the back of the net.

Video embed courtesy of www.whitecapsfc.com — if it ain’t workin’ don’t blame lil’ ol’ us!

Continue reading Whitecaps FC 4, Chivas USA 0 →

Articles, Soccer

The Vancouver Whitecaps Are Old

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Okay, Captain Jay Demerit isn’t Methusela, exactly, but he is feeling the effects of age, judging by a recent tweet. The team, in turn, is feeling the effects of his age, judging by stats compiled by our very own Chris Withers.

The Whitecaps are bone-creakingly old. At the start of the year, they were the oldest team in the MLS at 29.71 years. Then they traded Eric Hassli, Davide Chiumiento left and Barry Robson and Kenny Miller, both years older than their predecessors, were brought in. Age can be a good thing. One need only watch the masterclass that YP Lee usually puts on at right back to see the benefit of experience. But Captain Jay Demerit showed the downside of age in a tweet yesterday: “With every game I play, my body reminds me of how old I actually am. Good thing mind keeps telling me im 23. #sore #keepgoingJay #gocaps.” Continue reading The Vancouver Whitecaps Are Old →

Players, Soccer

Peter Vagenas

Panayiotis Alexiou “Peter” Vagenas
Midfielder – CD Chivas USA
Born February 6, 1978 in Pasadena, CA

Nicknames: Pasadena Pete; Passback Pete; That Guy The Whitecaps Inexplicably Let “Mentor” Gershon Koffie

Peter Vagenas, now in his 13th season in Major League Soccer, is a player commonly described as “experienced”. This is code for “old” and “often doesn’t get his contract renewed”. Continue reading Peter Vagenas →

Articles, Hockey

Whitecaps Cough Up The Cup

The soccer gods, as they often like to do during the Voyageurs Cup tournament, were having a laugh yesterday. One of them devised the following scenario:

First, make the busiest part of the Whitecaps schedule coincide with two different Cup competitions, ensuring they either have to rotate the squad (which isn’t all that deep) or play tired. Second, have Toronto FC lose over a quarter of their league games consecutively to start the year, ensuring they are out of playoff contention and have nothing else to play for. Third, have Toronto somehow squeak past Montreal to get into the finals to face Vancouver. Fourth, have the Whitecaps play uninspired soccer. OK, number four definitely wasn’t the soccer gods’ fault, but the result, a 2-1 aggregate loss to Toronto, will still seem unfair to Vancouver soccer fans. This was to be our year, and it all went wrong.

After putting in a largely uninspired second leg in the Canadian championship, Eric Hassli & the Whitecaps probably should have been forced to endure the long walk of shame back to Vancouver instead of a comfy cross-country flight.

Continue reading Whitecaps Cough Up The Cup →

Articles, Hockey

Rogers Arena, BC Place and the Canucks’ Culture Conundrum

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On Saturday, I took advantage of a pretty rare opportunity: I got to see Vancouver play Montreal in two different sports on the same day. After an off-season that stretched seemingly forever, the Vancouver Whitecaps finally got to show off their revamped squad against the Montreal Impact at 3pm. Then, at 7pm, the Habs made their only visit of the year to Rogers Arena. I’ve been to my share of Canucks games in the past, and I was at all but one Whitecaps home game last season, but I’ve never been able to so directly compare the atmosphere in the two stadiums.

It couldn’t have worked out better, frankly. The Habs always inspire one of the liveliest affairs (off the ice) you’re likely to see at Rogers Arena, while the home opener in any sport is usually a noisy one. I even got to take in the games from a similar vantage point in each stadium. So how do the two events stack up? Read on to find out. Continue reading Rogers Arena, BC Place and the Canucks’ Culture Conundrum →