VANCOUVER, B.C. – Midfielder Blair Gavin and forward Kharlton Belmar each scored second-half goals, but T2 were unable to rally from a second-half deficit in a 3-2 defeat against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday afternoon in front of 1,373 fans at UBC Thunderbird Stadium.
Playing their fourth road match in their last five games, T2 (5-7-2, 17pts) conceded all three goals in the second half and closed the gap to one goal on two separate occasions, but were unable to find a game-tying goal late in the match.
In a tight first half, T2 goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made two point-blank saves on breakaway opportunities to keep things level before Whitecaps FC 2 (4-7-4, 16pts) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute as midfielder Ben McKendry put away the rebound on forward Caleb Clarke’s shot.
Vancouver doubled its lead in the 53rd minute as Clarke dribbled past his defender and sent a pass in to midfielder Marco Bustos who finished from close range.
Trailing 2-0 in the 71st minute, Gavin scored for the second consecutive match with a powerful left-footed strike after receiving a pass from midfielder Fatawu Safiu. Defender Ethen Sampson pushed Vancouver’s lead back to two goals in the 80th minute as he cleaned up the rebound on a corner kick to extend the lead to 3-1.
T2 cut their deficit to a single goal for a second time as Belmar pounced on the rebound from a shot by Gavin and finished from close range in the 89th minute. The goal was Belmar’s seventh of the season, tied for third most in the USL.
Following Sunday’s match, T2 will return home to face Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Merlo Field on Monday, June 29; kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (Pacific).
T2 (5-7-2, 17pts) at Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (4-7-4, 16pts)
June 21, 2015 – UBC Thunderbird Stadium (Vancouver, B.C.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Whitecaps FC 2 0 3 3
T2 0 2 2
Scoring Summary
VAN: McKendry, 48
VAN: Bustos (Clarke), 53
POR: Gavin (Fatawu), 71
VAN: Sampson, 80
POR: Belmar, 89
Misconduct Summary
POR: Fatawu (Caution), 8
POR: Thoma (Caution), 45+2
VAN: Sampson (Caution), 77
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Gleeson, D Thoma, D Clarke (Evans, 46), D Delbridge, D Jeanderson, M Besler, M Gavin ©, M Fochive, M Tshuma (Richards, 64), M Fatawu, F Belmar
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, D Rose, M Payne, M Biglieri, M Casiple
TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2
VAN: GK Richey, D Sampson, D Farmer, D Dean, D Serban, M Rosenlund, M Christianson, M McKendry (Blagojevic, 86), M Bustos (Sandhu, 72), M Levis (Pridham, 81), M Clarke (Schuler, 76)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Carducci, D Nitti, M Blasco
TOTAL SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; OFFSIDES: 7; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 5
Referee: Juan Marquez
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
4th Official: Kevin Oyhenart
Attendance: 1,373
Weather: Sunny, 73 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
