In their last home games of 2013, the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency sides took to the pitch at Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium on Saturday in front of perhaps 200 spectators, and handed the visiting Portland Timbers a pair of losses. The U-18 squad overcame an early blunder to win 3-2, while the U-16’s rode a pair of Dario Zanatta goals to a 2-0 victory.

It was an inauspicious start for Vancouver, and especially goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. Early in the first half, a Timbers attack died when a foul was assessed to one of their forwards. Wirth shooed his teammates away, opting to take the free kick himself from just outside his own 18-yard box. Instead of clearing the ball up the field, however, he tried to kick the ball across the field to left back Sam Adekugbe. The cross was easily picked off by the Timbers player – who must have blended into the turf, or something – and he had acres and hours to roll the ball in for a 1-0 Portland lead.

The early goal seemed to wake Vancouver up, and they would control the play for most of the next hour. In the 38th minute, Kianz Froese was taken down in the box. Sam Adekugbe, fresh off his first MLS minutes, took the ensuing penalty, and calmly drew Vancouver level. The game settled down for the next half hour or so. Froese and midfielder-turned-forward-for-the-day Marco Bustos showed why they are getting chatter as the next players to potentially graduate to MLS, regularly undressing the Timbers’ back line with their foot work. They were rewarded for their hard work in the 73rd minute, when Bustos fired a shot from distance into the top corner. Two minutes later, Froese dribbled past several Timbers, generating another Bustos shot. It was saved, but Jordan Haynes was there to clean up the rebound and pot the eventual game winner.

Portland would get one back late in the game. There were some nervy moments when they could have tied it up, had they been able to get clean shots away, but they ended up going home empty-handed. Man of the Match for me had to be Kianz Froese, who spent most of the game dribbling towards anything in green, and was mainly responsible for two of Vancouver’s goals. On several occasions, Froese drew three or four Portland defenders, made a quick move and a quick pass, and set up a scoring chance.

The U-16 game was considerably less interesting. The Whitecaps played a solid game, but both teams looked disinterested at times. The supporters even resorted to cheering on the joggers running the track for long stretches of the first half. Dario Zanatta is one to watch on this team. His speed was too much for the Timbers on a number of occasions, and he was full value for his two goals on the day. Also of interest in St. Albert, AB’s Aymar Sigue. At this age level, it’s difficult to assess big players because their size gives them a distinct advantage that fades as players mature. Sigue, though, looks like he could be the real deal. He’ll be disappointed that he didn’t score today, after a powerful header early on went just wide and his breakaway later in the first half was stopped by a quality goalkeeping effort. He never failed to look dangerous, though, displaying some excellent touch for a big man. In particular, Sigue saved a ball that looked sure to go into touch with a lovely little back-heel flick over the Portland midfielder, then went on a 40-yard run down the right side. The knock on Sigue is apparently his positional sense. If he can sort out the mental side of the game, this guy could be something special.

Going into the winter break, the win put the U-18 Caps in first place in their division (pending other results), with an 8W-0D-2L record, while the U-16 Caps (5W-3D-2L) now sit tied for 2nd with 18 points. League play resumes for the Residency on January 11th, when Vancouver will travel to Portland. Their next home games are not until March 1st and 2nd, when they will take on Real So Cal and Arsenal FC at SFU. To keep sharp over the break, the Caps will be taking part in the USSDA Winter Showcase in Tampa Bay, FL. The tournament kicks off December 11th when Vancouver takes on the Chicago Fire academy.