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Nakajima-Farran, Piette the only real surprises on Canada roster

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/17/2012

Issey Nakajima-Farran, with Canada back in 2010, PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

Canadian men’s national team coach Stephen Hart had been stating over and over not to expect too many surprises when he unveiled the roster for a June 3 friendly against the United States and two World Cup qualifiers to follow.

So, we shouldn’t be surprised that we weren’t surprised. For the most part, it’s a squad very similar to what we saw through the first phase of World Cup qualifying, which saw Canada eliminate St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Puerto Rico.

Of the 22 men named to the roster, only two — teenager Samuel Piette and veteran Issey Nakajima-Farran, who plays in Australia — would be considered eyebrow-raisers.

Piette, at 17, was a major part of Canada’s team at last year’s U-17 World Cup and the recent U-23 squad that came within one game of securing a berth at the London Olympics. He is reportedly close to a deal with Fortuna Dusseldorf, who earlier this week secured its return to the Bundesliga.
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Deja vu: Whitecaps let TFC escape Vancouver with an advantage, again

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/17/2012

Joe Cannon: Point-blank save on Nick Soolsma

It is the nature of two-legged Cup ties that the first game is often forgotten. Quick. Think back to the first leg of the Chelsea-Barcelona Champions League semifinal. Doesn’t come back to you as quickly as that epic second leg, does it?

And when we think of the 2011 Voyageurs’ Cup final, we remember the second leg, not the first. The rainout and subsequent replay turned that second leg into a strangely epic affair, and Whitecaps fans still lament losing a second-half 1-0 lead because a downpour at BMO Field aborted the first attempt at playing the game.

Almost conveniently forgotten was the first leg, which the Whitecaps dominated in terms of possession and chances. But the ‘Caps squandered chance after chance and settled for a 1-1 draw, which set up TFC to take that home leg.

Fast forward to 2012: Again, the Whitecaps get a 1-1 draw at home. A 91st-minute wonder volley from Eric Hassli, which came just minutes after keeper Joe Cannon denied TFC striker Nick Soolsma a vital insurance goal on a point-blank chance, gave the draw a euphoric feel for Vancouver fans.
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Hassli’s thumping volley allows Whitecaps to draw level with TFC

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/17/2012

Eric Hassli

It was another Eric Hassli special.

With the Vancouver Whitecaps down 1-0, the big Frenchman reached into his bag of magic tricks and pulled out one his finest efforts yet, hitting a powerful volley into the top right corner of Milos Kocic’s goal.

The wonder strike ensures it’s all squared up at one apiece going into next Wednesday’s second leg at BMO Field, after Ryan Johnson fired Toronto into the lead with a 66th minute header from a cross from Julian de Guzman.

“Alain [Rochat] gave me a great ball,” Hassli told reporters following the match. “I practiced yesterday. I killed some birds [with wayward shots] and today was pretty good – lucky too. It’s a good goal.”
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Richmond-based club asks for court injunction to stop BCSA-Whitecaps deal

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/15/2012

Colin Elmes

The B.C. Soccer Association is being sued.

Late last week, Sportstown B.C. Holdings and Total Soccer Systems Inc. filed their suit in the province’s Supreme Court which asks for an injunction that would prevent the provincial soccer body from continuing its partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

All items reported in the statement of claim have yet to be proven in a court of law.

The TSS Academy, based in Richmond, is a for-proft academy that isn’t allowed to become a full BCSA member. And it is angered that the BCSA entered partnerships with the Whitecaps, which is a for-profit MLS team. The Academy believes that is an unfair barrier to its business. According to TSS, the issue is not the Whitecaps, it’s the BCSA.

Even though the case is a long way from being heard, in the meantime TSS and its lawyers are asking for “a temporary injunction prohibiting the Defendant (the BCSA) from receiving any funding from the Vancouver Whitecaps or from the Province of British Columbia” until the case has been resolved.
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Nguyen’s statement game earns him MLS POTW honours

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/14/2012

Lee Nguyen, before the Whitecaps let him go

Lee Nguyen never got a chance to play a game for the Vancouver Whitecaps. And, on Monday, he was named MLS Player of the Week for showing up the Whitecaps.

Nguyen scored his first two MLS goals and set up another as the New England Revolution beat the Whitecaps 4-1 on Saturday. That effort earned him the most POTW votes from the membership of the North American Soccer Reporters.

Nguyen’s first goal was the product of being in the right place at the right time, as he banged a shot home after a goalmouth scramble. But his second was a thing of beauty, a 25-yard volley after a throw-in. It will be hard to see anyone beating that for Goal of Week.
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TFC moves de Klerk from pitch, promotes Brennan

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/14/2012

Bob de Klerk

Toronto FC announced two promotions on Monday. Bob de Klerk will move away from the coaches’ bench and will be the new technical manager for the club, while Jim Brennan moves from coaching the Academy ranks to the senior squad.

And, tacked into the body of Toronto FC’s press release was mention of an increased role for Director of Player Development Paul Mariner, who will have more of an on-field presence and work with the strikers.

Brennan will join Jason Bent as men who have coached the Academy but moved up to become assistants with the senior squad.

According to TFC, “In this new role, de Klerk will be responsible for Toronto FC’s technical program, including advance and international scouting, as well as serving as the technical conduit between the First Team and Academy program. He will also assist players transitioning from the Academy into the First Team and support the education of Toronto FC coaches at all levels.”
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Vukovic gets three more months to try and impress Impact

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/14/2012

Stefan Vukovic

The Montreal Impact announced Monday that forward Stefan Vukovic will have three more months to try and impress the club.

Vukovic, who led the CSL in scoring last season as a member of TFC Academy, and was in training camp with Toronto FC in 2012, was cut by the club before the start of the regular season. With TFC having no real academy program for players older than 18, there was no place for Vukovic to go if he didn’t get a contract from the big club.

Vukovic was also on the roster of coach Nick Dasovic’s preliminary U-20 squad that held camp late last year.
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Revenge is a dish best served cold: Nguyen haunts Whitecaps

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/13/2012

Lee Nguyen in a Whitecaps' jersey

The streak is over, and it’s largely due to a castoff.

After winning five consecutive matches in all competitions, the Vancouver Whitecaps fell to the New England Revolution 4-1 on Saturday, mainly thanks to Lee Nguyen, the twice-capped U.S. international attacking player the club waived following preseason.

Nguyen scored twice and set one up on the night at Gillette Stadium, creating his own version of the cliched tale of a player proving his old coach wrong.

But while the final score heavily favoured the Revs, things didn’t appear scripted for that conclusion in the early moments, as the ‘Caps took a fifth-minute lead through Eric Hassli.
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Ricketts’ goalkeeping heroics against his former team allows Impact to draw Galaxy

By
Mike Wyman
– 05/13/2012

Davy Arnaud: Opening goal

A new Canadian record crowd for pro soccer turned up at Olympic Stadium for this afternoon’s match against the MLS reigning champs, with very few of the 60,860 leaving the park unsatisfied with the spectacle .

The teams fought a tough, physical battle with the home side dominating the opening 45 minutes, scoring their goal early and the visiting LA Galaxy evening the score in the second half, with keeper Donovan Ricketts providing the biggest reason that his old club left town with a single point rather than handing the Impact its first MLS defeat in Montreal. Final score: Impact 1, Galaxy 1.

The first half saw the Galaxy holding a decided edge in possession time as well as the both the number and proportion of passes completed, but ended with the home side a goal up.

The Impact marker came in the eighth minute of play, the result of a sortie that began with a long Nelson Rivas pass out of the defensive zone that found Bernardo Corradi. The Italian striker moved it up to captain, Davy Arnaud, normally a midfielder but starting up front today, who put it easily behind Galaxy ‘keeper, Brian Perk, making his first start of the season.
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Whitecap Carlos Marquez named PDL’s Player of the Week

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/10/2012

Carlos Marquez

Richmond, B.C.’s Carlos Marquez has been named the PDL’s player of the week.

The league announced the honour on Thursday, nearly a week after Marquez set up Michael Boxall’s opening goal and then scored two of his own as the Whitecaps U-23 side beat the Kitsap Pumas 3-0 in their season opener.

Marquez, 18, joined the Whitecaps’ Residency program in 2010. In 2011, he made 13 appearances for the Whitecaps U-23 side in PDL action. But he is quickly rising up the ranks. He played for the Whitecaps’ senior reserve team against the Seattle Sounders’ Reserves on March 26.
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