| Full name | Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Caps | ||
| Founded | 2005 | ||
| Dissolved | 2014 | ||
| Stadium | Thunderbird Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 3,500 | ||
| Owner | Greg Kerfoot | ||
| Head Coach | Nick Dasovic | ||
| League | Premier Development League | ||
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, formerly known asWhitecaps FC Reserves, was a Canadiansoccer team based inVancouver,British Columbia, Canada. Although founded in 2005 as part of the development system for theVancouver WhitecapsUSL First Division franchise, beginning in 2011 they became part of the development system forMajor League Soccer'sVancouver Whitecaps FC. The team played in thePremier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of theAmerican Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.
The team played its home games atThunderbird Stadium. The team's colours were blue and white.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 began their competitive life asWhitecaps FC Reserves in thePacific Coast Soccer League in 2005, and were immediately competitive. As the official development team of theVancouver WhitecapsUSL First Division club, they had the pick of the local youth soccer talent, and this translated to results on the field. They won the North Division title in their freshman season with a 10–2–4 record, finishing three points clear of second placeHibernian & Caledonian. However, they lost the championship title match againstVictoria United, and had to be content with second place.Andrew Corrazza was Whitecaps' top scorer, tallying 15 goals for the season.
The PCSL reverted to a single-table format in 2006, but the change in structure did not distract the Whitecaps, who took their first league championship title with an 11–2–1 record, finishing four points clear ofFK Pacific in second place and Vancouver Thunderbirds in third.
The team spent the 2007 season in hiatus, preparing for their PDL debut in 2008. In joining the PDL in 2008, the Whitecaps became the first team to make the PCSL to PDL jump.
Vancouver's first season in the PDL was an impressive one; they rattled off three wins out of the gate, including an impressive 4–1 victory over 2007 divisional championsBYU Cougars. Their 4–0 loss toTacoma Tide at the beginning of June would prove to be costly at the end of the season, but despite this slight stutter the Whitecaps continued to post impressive results. They outclassed local rivalsAbbotsford Rangers 4–1, exacted revenge on Tacoma with a 5–1 thumping that included a hat-trick from strikerRandy Edwini-Bonsu, put another five pastCascade Surge in early July, and knocked off title contendersYakima Reds 4–1 on the road. At this point the divisional title looked to be theirs for the taking, but two surprising defeats in their last three league games – 0–3 atSpokane Shadow and then 0–1 atOgden Outlaws in the final game of the season – allowed Tacoma to pip them at the post and take the divisional title on goal difference. Nevertheless, Vancouver travelled to Fresno for the Western Conference playoffs, where they faced theSan Fernando Valley Quakes in the semi-final, who they beat 3–1 in extra time, after scoring an equalizer with virtually the last kick of normal time thanks toRandy Edwini-Bonsu. They comfortably dispatchedTacoma Tide 4–1 to take the Western Conference title with another brace from Edwini-Bonsu, and travelled to Ontario to take on Central Conference championsThunder Bay Chill for a place in the PDL Championship game. The first ever all-Canadian semi final went the way of the Chill, who scored a last minute winner to take the game 2–1 (and would eventually go on to win the national title). For the Whitecaps, however, it was a positive debut season in the PDL, and the future looks bright. The prolificRandy Edwini-Bonsu was top scorer for the season, with nine goals, whileGagandeep Dosanjh andAlex Semenets contributed 8 assists each.
Having lost many of their best players – includingLuca Bellisomo,Randy Edwini-Bonsu,Ethan Gage,Navid Mashinchi,Dever Orgill,Admir Salihovic,Mason Trafford andSimon Thomas – to the senior Whitecaps roster at the end of 2008, the Residency Class of 2009 did not fare as well in the PDL. Despite playing their first six regular season games at home atSimon Fraser University, the Caps could only register two wins, a 2–1 win over fellow CanucksAbbotsford Mariners, and an admittedly very impressive 6–0 hammering ofSpokane Shadow in whichCoulton Jackson scored twice. The bad run of form continued when they hit the road, losing four of their five trips around the Pacific Northwest, including a demoralizing 4–0 drubbing at the hands of eventual divisional championsKitsap Pumas in mid-June. A late rally in July saw the Caps enjoy their only unbeaten streak of the season, a 4-game stand that included a 6–0 battering of theYakima Reds thanks to goals from senior side loaneesRandy Edwini-Bonsu,Dever Orgill andKenold Versailles. Unfortunately, a 4–0 loss to their local rivalsVictoria Highlanders on the last day of the season left the Caps stuck mid-table in sixth place, out of the playoffs and with some re-building to do.Gagandeep Dosanjh was the team's top scorer with 4 goals, whileRussell Teibert contributed 3 assists.
On November 21, 2014, the Whitecaps announced the formation on theWhitecaps FC 2United Soccer League team. The U23 team was disbanded and its staff was moved to the new team.[1]
This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
Mehdi Ballouchy
Vicente Arze
Tyler BaldockLuca BellisomoBrandon Bonifacio
Wesley CharlesGordon ChinJeff ClarkeMichael D'AgostinoSrdjan DjekanovicRandy Edwini-BonsuBen Fisk-RoutledgeEthan Gage
Jhamie HydeCallum IrvingMarlon JamesDiaz KambereStefan Leslie
Navid MashinchiDever Orgill Dan PelcKyle Porter
Admir SalihovicAlex SemenetsKeithy SimpsonAdam StraithSimon ThomasRussell TeibertMason Trafford
Kenold Versailles
Mason WebbNick Webb| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Canada Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4 | PCSL | 3rd | N/A | ||
| 1996 | 4 | PCSL | 5th | N/A | ||
| 2005 | 4 | PCSL | 1st, North | Finalist | did not participate | |
| 2006 | 4 | PCSL | 1st | did not participate | ||
| 2007 | On Hiatus | |||||
| 2008 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Northwest | National Semifinals | N/A | |
| 2009 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, Northwest | did not qualify | N/A | |
| 2010 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, Northwest | did not qualify | N/A | |
| 2011 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Northwest | did not qualify | N/A | |
| 2012 | 4 | USL PDL | 5th, Northwest | did not qualify | N/A | |
| 2013 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Northwest | Divisional Playoffs | N/A | |
| 2014 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Northwest | Conference Semifinals | N/A | |
Thomas Niendorf (2008–2009)Colin Miller (2010)
Craig Dalrymple (2010, 2012)
Richard Grootscholten (2010–2012)
Stuart Neely (2013)Niall Thompson (2014)Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive athttps://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
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