V2FC (in light blue) have 22 standings points after 8 matches. (Lynn Michaelson)
VANCOUVER, WA— Erick Urzua (Concordia) scored in the 31st minute on Sunday night at Harmony Sports Complex and the Vancouver Victory made it stand up as they took a 1-0 win from visiting Wenatchee FC. V2FC is now 7-0-1 after 8 matches played with 22 points. It’s the best point total after 8 matches in Evergreen Premier League history.
Victory Head Coach Aaron Lewis was ready to look forward after what he considered a lesser performance by his side. “We’ll look forward to getting back in the training grounds Tuesday to build on this heading into an important stretch.” The Victory got the win, but they struggled to play well in the heat and against a game Wenatchee side.
Match Gallery: Vancouver v. Wenatchee by Lynn Michaelson
Erick Urzua finishes his fake-out, then chips in the winner for V2FC. (Lynn Michaelson)
Wenatchee goalkeeper Miguel Avalos looks back as the winner hits the net. (Lynn Michaelson)
Urzua’s winner came when he was played on a through ball into the left side of the Wenatchee box by Antonio Perreco. Erick dribbled once to get in behind the Wenatchee defense toward goal and as the ball was rolling toward the six he faked a shot, causing WFC goalkeeper Miguel Avalos to react. Then he calmly lofted the ball over the sprawled-out ‘keeper from 5 yards out with a tidy little dink shot.The Victory outshot Wenatchee 16 to 6, only allowing two shots on goal.
“The shut out for us was important today because we struggled to finish out the match,” says Victory General Manager Barrett Goddard. “Wenatchee did an excellent job withstanding our pressure and counter-attacking dangerously, especially the last 15 minutes of the match. That is how we ended up tying in Bellingham a few weeks ago. We are going to have to be a little better at finishing our scoring opportunities and putting teams away if we are going to continue to win games.”
(Lynn Michaelson photo)
Vancouver continues to press themselves and expect more — and with good reason. It was just one year ago that V2FC sprinted out to a perfect 7-0-0 record in the EPLWA. They followed that stellar first half of the season with a disastrous second half in which they won only one match (1-5-1), eventually finishing third in the table.
The Victory are unbeaten at 5-0-0 at Harmony Sports Complex, but have just 2 home matches to play and 4 away. See their remaining schedule below.
Vancouver Victory remaining matches:
July 7 @ Seattle Stars FC
July 10 @ Wenatchee FC
July 17 Olympic Force
July 23 Spokane Shadow
July 24 @ Olympic Force
July 30 @ Yakima United
