skip navigation

WFC2 Likely to Have Full Arsenal at Disposal

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 10/12/16, 10:17AM EDT

Share

Young standouts set for Swope Park clash in Western Conference Final

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Originally, the plan for Vancouver Whitecaps FC was for a handful of younger players to take the field on Sunday against the San Jose Earthquakes in the team’s penultimate game of the MLS regular season.

Thanks to Daniel Haber’s 89th-minute winner for Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 against OKC Energy FC this past Saturday in the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs, WFC2 has continued its postseason run and will have a pretty familiar look when it visits the Swope Park Rangers in the Western Conference Final this Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET | Preview).

“I had two or three penciled in to play, because I wanted to see them in the last two games,” said Whitecaps Coach Carl Robinson on Tuesday. “I’m probably not going to be able to do that in the first game because we’ve got a very important game on Saturday.”

That means the likes of Cole Seiler, Brett Levis and Marco Bustos should all be available to WFC2 Coach Alan Koch’s roster, which could make a major impact for a side that has come back into form after a slight downturn at the end of the regular season. Bustos finished tied for second on the team with seven goals – his second consecutive season reaching that mark for WFC2 – and will be coming off a pair of appearances for Canada against Mauritania and Morocco on international duty over the past week.

Levis and Seiler, meanwhile, have been regulars for the WFC2 back line, and also helped the Whitecaps advance to the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League last month for the first time in the club’s history. The depth those players have provided the Whitecaps could make for some interesting decisions this offseason for the club, which has already been eliminated from MLS Cup Playoffs contention.

“Alan has done a great job with [assistant coaches Steve Meadley, Pa-Modou Kah and Raegyn Hall],” said Robinson. “They deserve a lot of credit for that. I knew we had a deep squad. We’ve managed to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals as well by rotating some players. What we haven’t done is taken care of business with the main group, which we should have done.”

After taking victories in both of their meetings with Swope Park during the regular season, WFC2 will enter the Western Conference Final not only with confidence, but likely a full complement of players to choose from as it looks to move within one win of a championship.

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos