Steve Zakuani logged 45 minutes during Tuesday night's MLS Reserve League loss to the Whitecaps.
TUKWILA, Wash. - Carlyle Mitchell scored twice for Vancouver as the Whitecaps FC beat the Seattle Sounders FC, 2-1, in an MLS Reserve League match on Friday night at Starfire Sports Stadium.
Seattle (1-3-1, 4 points) is in last place in the West Division while Vancouver (3-1-1, 10 points) is atop the West standings.
Carlyle's first strike came in the 26th minute when he headed in a corner kick from Michael Nanchoff. He added a second tally in the 72nd minute. Floyd Franks sent a free kick to the far post where an unmarked Mitchell headed it back across the goal and inside the opposite post to make it 2-nil.
Seattle pulled a goal back in the 81st minute when Dom Dismuke tapped in a cross from Aaron Kovar. Both Dismuke and Kovar play for the Sounders FC U18 Academy team.
Steve Zakuani returned to competitive action for the first time since suffering a leg fracture last April. In the 21st minute, Zakuani ran onto a long ball from Andrew Weber, beat his two defenders but his chip attempt was saved by keeper Brad Knighton. Zakuani beat his defender again in the 28th minute but his low shot from the right side of the box rolled wide of the far post.
Whitecaps had a dangerous opportunity coming out of the halftime break as Darren Mattocks sped past the Seattle backline and had Weber one-on-one but the Seattle keeper dived to his right to make the save.
Whitecaps keeper Knighton made six saves on the night, including a diving stop on Kovar's attempt from six yards and back-to-back saves in the 88th minute on shots from Michael Seamon and Servando Carrasco.
Whitecaps defender Russell Tiebert left the match in the 36th minute after a yellow card tackle from Carrasco. Tiebert was replaced by Daniel Stanese.
Seattle's next Reserve League match is against the LA Galaxy on August 6 at 7 p.m. PT at Starfire. The Whitecaps' next reserve match is also against the Galaxy on June 12 at 11 a.m. PT at the University of British Columbia.
Statement Regarding Canadian National Anthem
"Sounders FC regrets the Canadian anthem was not played in advance of the Reserve league match at the Starfire Sports Complex. We strive for excellence in every area of our business including game presentation. We regret this oversight and meant no disrespect to Canada and the Whitecaps." - Adrian Hanauer, Owner and General Manager.
