Following two straight shutout victories – one home and one away – Sounders FC 2 returns to the road to face Whitecaps FC 2 this Saturday in a Canadian-based Independence Day matchup. Now, as the team returns to full strength as Sérgio Mota and Oalex Anderson become available to the squad, S2 looks to celebrate the Fourth with three points in Vancouver.
“We are very confident heading into this match, and we feel when we have all available players at our disposal, we are one of the top teams in the entire league,” said S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. “Being a Cascadia match, we know Vancouver will be ready for us, but we seem to be making the right strides and we are going to continue that this weekend.”
Hendrickson’s team most recently defeated Portland Timbers 2 on the road by a final score of 2-0 for the second time this season. S2 picked up its first road point earlier this season in a 1-1 draw in Vancouver in a match that saw a goal from centerback Nick Miele. Vancouver’s lone goal in the match came from Welsh legend Robert Earnshaw, who capitalized on a communication breakdown between Charlie Lyon and Damion Lowe.
In the three months since the draw, Lyon has been named to USL Team of the Week twice and has earned three shutouts. His first of the season came against the ‘Caps in a 4-0 win at home.
Filling in for Lowe last week, Ashani Fairclough made his debut for S2 against T2, replacing Jimmy Ockford for the second half. With Lowe back from Jamaica, Hendrickson will have his first choice in defense, with Nick Miele, Aaron Long, Lowe, and Ockford all receiving minutes in central defense this season.
“Ashani is a great player. We knew we needed help defensively and that’s what he is here to do,” said Hendrickson. “He still isn’t 90-minutes fit following his hamstring injury, so we are still being careful with him, but he is here to help us become a better team.”
Whitecaps FC 2 is 4-8-4 in USL play, and is 1-4-0 in its last five matches. The ‘Caps are currently in tenth place in the USL Western Conference, six points out of playoff contention. The club is led by captain Caleb Clarke, who leads the team with six goals and also has two assists. University of Washington product Spencer Richey has started eight matches for WFC 2, and has one shutout while allowing 15 goals.
Saturday’s kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m. PT, and will be live-streamed on SoundersFC.com.
