A 2-2 thriller played out at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Colombia, where hometown Whitecaps FC II rallied to save a point in a back-and-forth rollercoaster with Timbers2.
WFC2 midfielder Owen Antoniuk goes down as the hero for his side with his second-half brace. His efforts matched the goals put up by T2 forwards Jamin Gogo Peters and Blake Bodily, who scored their club’s first-ever goals in each half respectively, to save the point in front of the home fans.
Timbers2 took the spoils and the extra point in the shootout, executing on all four of their opportunities, while WFC2 missed on two to spoil its heroic comeback effort.
The first half was nervy and looked like it was destined to go WFC2’s way in the opening phase before T2 started to find some rhythm on the counter attack and got rewarded with Peters’ opener just before the halftime whistle.
The sides swapped goals in the second half as the game turned wide-open. Emiliano Brienza drew a penalty to set Antoniuk up for his first goal, but his strike at the death of regulation time is what sent the game to the shootout and will rightfully garner most of the attention.
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Whitecaps FC II opened the game asking all the questions and ended up with the better of the statistics battle - to the tune of owning 58% of the possession and outshooting their Cascadian rival 21-6 in regulation.
T2 head coach Shannon Murray’s men did not go down easily, especially after conceding the late equalizer. Even when the momentum was staunchly against them for most of the match, they were clinical when they found the door open. It is becoming more and more clear with each passing week that the extra points earned in shootouts will be extremely valuable in how the playoff picture shapes up at the end of the season, and the reward is certainly going to play a part in who finds themselves playing for a trophy when all is said and done.
After suffering a 2-0 defeat to Earthquakes II in Week 1, T2’s perfection from the spot in the shootout earned two points and brings them right back into the mix of the early season Western Conference playoff line.
