Christopher Vose
Alan Koch returned to his old stomping ground when his new charges, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, took to Fox Field against his old charges, the Simon Fraser Clan. Koch's seven seasons with the Clan was an unmitigated success, winning several conference titles and making the Semi-Finals in two of the three years that the Clan were eligible for postseason play.
While Simon Fraser's Justus Hogback opened the scoring, as Clan so often do, it was Whitecaps FC 2 who had the last laugh. Canadian centre forward Mackenzie Pridham scored four unanswered goals before Craig Nitti forced Anthony Van De Vendel into conceding a late own goal with a clearing attempt that sent the ball right into the top netting.
Whitecaps FC 2 now boast a preseason record of 2-1-0, having scored nine goals, while conceding four of their own. Their last match of the preseason will also be at Fox Field, when they host the visiting Oregon State Beavers on Sunday at 10:00 AM.
Two time Canadian U17 Player of the Year Marco Carducci was the lone senior squad member to start the match. At half time, Ben McKendry replaced Mitch Piraux, while Caleb Clarke relieved Mackenzie Pridham in the 72nd minute. After scoring four goals, Pridham deserved a rest.
Besides the goals, the match included an early yellow card being handed out to the Clan's Magnus Kristensen for a foul on Pridham.
One of the four goals Mackenzie Pridham scored on Tuesday. Photo by Mynor Campos.
"We challenged the guys at halftime," said Koch after the match. "The first half wasn't good enough. But the second half response was much, much better. We're definitely progressing. Preseason is about getting comfortable with each other and learning how you're expected to play. We're looking for a solid 90 minute performance in our last preseason match to lead us into the season with a lot of confidence."
Whitecaps FC 2's season starts on the road in Seattle on March 29th, and their first home match will be April 19th when they host Toronto FC II at Thunderbird Stadium.
MATCH DETAILS
Man of the Match: Mackenzie Pridham
Scoring Summary
17' – SFU - Justus Hogback
30' – VAN – Mackenzie Pridham (Chris Serban)
44' – VAN – Mackenzie Pridham
48' – VAN – Mackenzie Pridham
52' – VAN – Mackenzie Pridham
85' – VAN – Anthony Van De Vendel
Cautions
16' – SFU - Magnus Kristensen
Simon Fraser Clan
0. Victor Gouchee; 8. Magnus Kristensen; 16 Callum Whittaker; 28 Anthony Van De Vendel (18. Pascal Schmidt 60'); 2 Shane Satar; 12 Ryan Dhillon; 4 Nico Espinosa (7. Gilbert Kyne 52'); 27 Alex Rowley; 10 Calvin Opperman; 21 Justus Hogback (26. Mateo Espinosa 60'); 29 Michael North (11. Niko Schroettle 67')
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
24. Marco Carducci; 55. Chris Serban; 41. Jackson Farmer; 54. Craig Nitti; 42. Jordan Haynes; 56. Alex Marrello; 37. Mitch Piraux (30. Ben McKendry '45); 50. Sahil Sandhu (48. Victor Blasco 72'); 46. Brett Levis (45. Tyler Rosenlund 45'); 47. Jovan Blagojevic; 49. Mackenzie Pridham (34. Caleb Clarke 72')