A franchise-record crowd of 3111 showed up at Foothills Park to watch
the all-Canadian
matchup between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Calgary Storm on the
Canada Day
holiday afternoon. The audience, bolstered by about one hundred vocal
Mexican
exchange students, went home disappointed as the Whitecaps won 2-0.
The action started almost as soon as the opening whistle was blown. In
the third minute,
a Whitecap corner kick was crossed in to a waiting Oliver Heald.
Heald’s shot from close
range was saved by Storm goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld. Today was
Hirschfeld’s last
appearance before his departure to England to train with Tottenham
Hotspur of the
English Premier League.
The Storm’s first chance occurred in the 7th minute when forward Chris
Lemire made a
good run down the right side. Vancouver goalie Alex Marques came far
off his line to
cut down the angle. Lemire’s shot from 20 yards out went just wide to
the right of the
net.
Moments later, Peter Heidler of the Storm put a cross into the box and
forward Damir
Jesic slid to tap it past Marques, but the deflection also went wide
right.
In the 10th minute, it became apparent that these teams are starting to
develop a bit of a
rivalry. Nico Berg of Vancouver and Chris Lemire of Calgary both
received yellow cards
for an altercation near the Whitecaps penalty area.
The next Storm opportunity came in the 17th minute when Jamie Auvigne
blasted a shot
from about 25 yards that hit the outside netting on the right side.
As the 21st minute approached, the Calgary faithful had a chance to see
why Jason Jordan
of the Whitecaps has been pursued by MLS clubs lately. Marques launched
a goal kick
aided by the strong prairie wind that came right to Jordan, but
Hirschfeld made the save.
Shortly afterward, Alfredo Valente worked his way through the Calgary
defense but his
shot was right at Hirschfeld.
A couple of minutes later Jordan took a shot from the right flank which
Hirschfeld
knocked away. The rebound came to Valente on the left, who put it into
the side netting.
The Whitecaps finally broke through in the 25th minute. Inexplicably,
no less than three
Vancouver players were breaking in on goal with only the keeper to stop
them. Jordan
took the shot which was brilliantly saved by Hirschfeld, but no Storm
player had yet
returned to remove the rebound. Valente drove it home uncontested to
give Vancouver
the lead.
Perhaps the strangest period of action this year at Foothills Park
occurred in the 31st
minute. Whitecaps Valente and Heald were on a 2 on 1 and Valente scored
on a decent
shot. However, the play was called offside. While the Whitecaps were
arguing the call,
the Storm got ready for the whistle. As soon as it was blown,
Hirschfeld put the ball
forward to four Calgary players, with only one Vancouver defender
involved with the
play. Peter Heidler gave the ball to Jesic who passed to Waldo Dutra.
Dutra drove his
shot into back of goalkeeper Marques, who did not seem to think the game
was resumed.
The ball rolled out for a Calgary corner.
As the half ended, Vancouver had a couple more chances including one set
up by Jordan
to Andrew Veer, who did not convert.
After the intermission, it appeared that the wind picked up and started
to change
directions, making it an even bigger factor in the game.
The first chance of the second half went to the Storm. In the 48th
minute, Lemire put a
ball through to Kurt Bosch, who got it over to Jesic, but the ball did
not find the target.
Vancouver had more opportunities around the 66th minute, but Hirschfeld
made a few
good saves. The Whitecaps wouldn’t be denied in the 68th minute, when
shoddy
defending led to a loose ball in front of the net. It was collected by
Steve Kindel, who
made no mistake and put Vancouver up 2-0.
The ‘Caps nearly made the tally 3-0 in the 75th minute when Kindel’s
shot beat
Hirschfeld and hit the inside of the post. As it rolled along the goal
line, it was cleared by
a defender.
Moments later, Lemire was sent off for his second yellow card violation
as a result of a
skirmish with wily veteran Nick Dasovic. Vancouver showed their
experience by
keeping possession for most of the final fifteen minutes against the
undermanned Storm.
Calgary had a couple of chances as the game neared completion. In the
80th minute there
was a scramble in front of the Vancouver net. Jamie Auvigne took a shot
from right in
front but missed. In the 83rd minute, Dasovic nearly scored an own goal
when he was
defending another shot by Auvigne, but ball hit the right post.
The last few minutes ticked by uneventfully, making the final 2-0. The
Whitecaps are
now 5-6-3 while the Storm sink to 1-12-2. Calgary’s next action is on
the road in El Paso
on Saturday. Their next home match is on Saturday, June 20 at 6pm
against the Portland
Timbers.
Lineups:
Calgary: Hirschfeld, Sestito, Borgh, Chala, Auvigne, Dutra (Chalmers
61), Bosch,
Heidler (Zuniga 46), Ledgerwood (Gillespie 61), Lemire, Jesic
Vancouver: Marques, Coppin, Berg (Finnan 34), Dasovic, Clarke, Kindel,
Veer, Hall,
Valente, Thompson, Jordan
Goals:
Vancouver: Valente (25th), Kindel (68th)
Cautions:
Calgary: Lemire (10th & 75th), Dutra (36th), Borgh (59th)
Vancouver: Berg (10th), Dasovic (75th)
Ejections:
Calgary: Lemire (75th)
Vancouver: Berg (45th)
Attendance: 3111
Weather: 20 C (68 F), sunny, windy
STORM WARNINGS:
Four of the Storm’s new recruits saw action today. Midfielder Waldo
Dutra and defender
Salvatore Borgh started the game while forward Orlin Chalmers and
defender Jordan
Gillespie came on as substitutes. Dutra and Gillespie are no strangers
to the organization.
Both were key figures with the Storm’s PDL side, and were rewarded with
a promotion.
Dutra scored five goals in his last four PDL games while Gillespie
captained the
developmental club. Borgh and Chalmers are among the four new players
brought in
from the Hamilton Thunder of the Canadian Premier Soccer League. The
others are
midfielder Matthew O’Connor and goalkeeper Wojtek Zarzycki. Zarzycki
will join the
club on Wednesday. All of the Hamilton players fit with the Storm’s
model of player
development. The 18-year-old O’Connor has spent time with Hertha
Berlin. Chalmers is
21 and has been with Cannes in France. Zarzycki, 20, has experience
with Werder
Bremen’s youth program...Storm captain Mark McKenna is still sidelined
with a knee
injury. Defender Mike Pavicic is still struggling with an injury as
well...The game was
delayed for 30 minutes because the Whitecaps’ flight into Calgary was
cancelled and they
had to wait for a later plane.
