A week after getting their first victory of the USL season over Portland Timbers 2, Seattle Sounders FC 2 couldn’t make it two in a row, falling 3-0 in their Cascadia match with Vancouver Whitecaps 2 at McLeod’s Athletic Park in Langley, B.C. on Saturday.
Defender Deklan Wynne scored the game’s opening goal, with Andy Thoma and Ben McKendry adding late insurance goals to pace the hosts, who knocked S2 to 1-2-0 on the young season.
Wynne opened the scoring in the 13th minute after a cross deflected off S2 defender Riley Grant, setting up Wynne with a clean look. The New Zealand international then slotted a cheeky finish past Seattle goalkeeper Tyler Miller to give Whitecaps 2 the early lead.
Whitecaps 2 striker Gloire Amanda very nearly doubled the advantage in the 40th minute off a headed attempt, but Miller sprawled out to his right for a diving save.
S2 had a pair of looks at a first-half equalizer, one off a distance shot from Zach Mathers and the other from an attempt inside the box from Sam Rogers. But neither opportunity troubled Vancouver ‘keeper and former University of Washington standout Spencer Richey, and Whitecaps 2 took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
S2 had another decent look at an equalizer in the 60th minute from forward David Olsen, who whipped a header on target off a cross from Mathers. But the attempt was right at Richey, keeping the visitors in the one-goal deficit.
The 1-0 scoreline would hold until Thoma’s 85th-minute strike sailed past Miller off a cross from Amanda, sealing the result for Whitecaps 2. McKendry added the third just prior to the final whistle.
S2 will look to avenge the defeat in its next match, which will see the squad travel south to take on LA Galaxy II at the StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium on April 15.
