VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver Whitecaps will play most of their Major League Soccer home games on Saturday nights. The new MLS schedule was released today and Vancouver's 34-game regular season will include 12 Saturday home matches, as well as three home games on Wednesday and two on Sunday.

Whitecaps will kickoff their first season in MLS at Empire Field when they host Canadian rivals Toronto FC on Saturday March 19th at 3:30 p.m. Vancouver will open the new BC Place Stadium against the Portland Timbers on Sunday October 2nd at 1:30 p.m. The Whitecaps final opponent at Empire Field will be the Seattle Sounders on Saturday September 24th, the same team that helped Vancouver open BC Place in 1983.

Other highlights include a visit to Empire Field by David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday July 30th and a home game with superstar Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls Saturday, May 28th.

CASA GRANDE, AZ – In their fourth training match of preseason, Vancouver Whitecaps FC suffered a late 1-0 defeat to Major League Soccer side Chivas USA in Casa Grande, Arizona, on Friday.

A last-minute strike by substitute Jesús Padilla gave the Southern California outfit victory in this first-ever meeting between Whitecaps FC and Chivas USA. It proved to be an unfortunate ending to this contest for the Blue and White, as the match looked seemingly destined for a goalless draw at the Grande Sports World complex.

“I thought we played quite well,” head coach Teitur Thordarson told whitecapsfc.com. “It’s very nice to see that our defensive shape is good right now. Chivas USA hardly created a goal chance in the game until the end, so overall, I was happy with that aspect of our performance. Offensively, I don’t think you could have expected any more. We created at least four or five chances, where we were one-on-one or two-on-one with the goalkeeper, and we didn’t manage to score.”

Fresh off recent injury concerns, centre back Jay DeMerit and midfielder John Thorrington started Friday’s game for Vancouver, while Robin Fraser’s Chivas USA started the match in a 4-1-4-1 formation. The first half proved to a relatively uneventful affair, with Chivas USA’s Alan Gordon and Vancouver’s Atiba Harris earning early bookings.

Chivas USA created chances through Gordon on 18 minutes and Mexican midfielder Mariano Trujillo on the half-hour mark, while ‘Caps midfielder Terry Dunfield saw his free kick deflect away for a corner on 41 minutes. Just before halftime, veteran MLS striker Alejandro Moreno forced a good save from Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Jay Nolly, as both sides went to the break tied at 0-0.

Thordarson made two changes for the start of the second half, with one of those substitutes soon in on the action, as Jeb Brovsky conceded a penalty to Chivas USA on 47 minutes. Trujillo stepped up to take the spot kick, but his effort went wide left of the target.

It was from that point that Whitecaps FC started to threaten the Chivas USA goal. On 54 minutes, veteran MLS goalkeeper Zach Thornton made an excellent save from youngster Russell Teibert after Davide Chiumiento had dummied a fine through ball from Harris.

Substitute Nizar Khalfan then entered the match for Teibert, and created chances of his own. The Tanzanian international was off-target with one effort before hitting the Chivas USA wall with a free kick at the midway point of the half. Khalfan then brought another save from substitute goalkeeper Sergio Arias after taking a feed from fellow substitute Long Tan.

At the other end, Ecuadorian striker Victor Estupiñan created a couple of chances for Chivas USA before Vancouver trialist Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo had two fine opportunities off a Shea Salinas cross. Arias saved his first attempt on goal, while his second chance went wide of the target.

The Brazilian had one more chance before Chivas USA won the match through Padilla on 89 minutes. The Mexican striker beat the ‘Caps offside trap before finishing past Nolly for a late 1-0 lead.

Tan had an immediate chance to equalize for Vancouver, but Arias was able to preserve the clean sheet, as Chivas USA edged this inaugural contest between these two Western Conference foes.

Whitecaps FC will return to action on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. PT, as they take on the United States U-18 national team at the Westside Complex in Avondale, Arizona. That is followed by a closed-door training match versus MLS Western Conference rivals Los Angeles Galaxy at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. PT.

For further details and interviews, check out the Full-Time: Vancouver Soccer Show comments by clicking here.

Scoring summary:
89′ – CHV – Jesús Padilla (Michael Umana)

Cautions:
15′ – CHV – Alan Gordon
26′ – VAN – Atiba Harris
53′ – CHV – Ben Zemanski
67′ – CHV – Jimmy Conrad
73′ – VAN – Alain Rochat

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
18.Jay Nolly; 4.Alain Rochat, 6.Jay DeMerit (40.Ryan O’Leary 45′), 14.Greg Janicki, 25.Jonathan Leathers; 12.Russell Teibert (16.Nizar Khalfan 65′), 11.John Thorrington (32.Jeb Brovsky 45′), 7.Terry Dunfield, 22.Shea Salinas (8.Wes Knight 81′); 20.Davide Chiumiento (36.Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo 60′), 9.Atiba Harris (23.Long Tan 54′)

Chivas USA
Zach Thornton (Sergio Arias 68′), Zarek Valentin (Andrew Boyens 68′), Ante Jazic (Jorge Flores 46′), Jimmy Conrad (Jimmy Asprilla 68′), Heath Pearce (Michael Umaña 31′), Michael Lahoud (Tristan Bowen 68′), Blair Gavin (Gerson Mayén 38′), Francisco Mendoza (Ben Zemanski 68′), Mariano Trujillo (Guillermo Torres 68′), Alan Gordon (Jesús Padilla 68′), Alejandro Moreno (Victor Estupiñan 68′)

SCENE & HEARD: Peter Schaad will instruct his final broadcasting class at Columbia Academy on March 1 and host his final drive home show on 100.5 The Peak on March 11. "Goodbyes are never fun," he says. "But I can't wait for the next step."

That will be directly into the broadcast booth as the official play-by-play voice of the Major League Soccer Whitecaps FC on Team 1410.

Schaad and his agent Ross Gurney agreed to a two-year contract with Team Radio's vice-president and GM James Stuart and the deal was sealed by program director Rob Gray Friday morning.

Schaad will broadcast all 34 regular-season Whitecaps games and host a daily afternoon soccer show Monday through Friday. "I've been a Whitecaps fan since I was 10 years old," Schaad says. "I remember crying myself to sleep when I was 15 after watching the Whitecaps play their final North American Soccer League game when it was announced the NASL was collapsing."

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced a new format for the Nutrilite Canadian Championship along with its 2011 schedule. For the first time, the competition will now feature four teams, with FC Edmonton added to the existing group of Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Impact Montréal. The old round-robin format has been replaced by the combination of a home-and-away semi-final stage along with a home-and-away championship final.

The winner of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship will qualify for CONCACAF Champions League, the 24-team confederation championship that qualifies one team for the FIFA Club World Cup.

"This new format, with the addition of the final series, will add more excitement to what is already a terrific event on the soccer calendar," said Peter Montopoli, General Secretary of the Canadian Soccer Association.
"We're thrilled to see that this amazing tournament is expanding," said Lydia Ayora, National Marketing Manager, Amway Canada. "As title sponsor since its inception, we're proud of what the Nutrilite Canadian Championship has contributed to soccer in this country and we're excited about what the future holds."

The new schedule features a line up with FC Edmonton against Toronto FC in one semi final and Vancouver Whitecaps FC against Impact Montréal in the other. On 27 April, Edmonton hosts Toronto while Montréal hosts Vancouver. One week later on 4 May, the fixtures will be reversed.

The two-leg championship final will be played on 18 May and 25 May.

The determination for semi-final pairings was based on the relative Major League Soccer or USSF Division 2 standings from the 2010 regular season. The 2011 seeding was (first to fourth) Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal and Edmonton.
FC Edmonton was granted full membership as a professional club at last year's Canadian Soccer Association Annual General Meeting. Approval for the revised format was sought through CONCACAF. With the sanction of NASL this week by the USSF, FC Edmonton’s acceptance into that league was completed, thus securing FC Edmonton's berth in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

"We are delighted to be invited to participate in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship next year," said Mel Kowalchuk, General Manager of FC Edmonton. "It will give us an opportunity to play against established, top soccer franchises, and to set our sights on bringing international competition to Edmonton."

Since 2008, Canada's top professional teams have played in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship for the Voyageurs Cup. The Impact won the inaugural championship in 2008 while Toronto FC won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.

2011 SCHEDULE

SEMI-FINAL STAGE

27 April 2011

Impact Montréal (3) v Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2) at Stade Saputo
FC Edmonton (4) v Toronto FC (1) at Commonwealth Stadium

4 May 2011

Toronto FC (1) v FC Edmonton (4) at BMO Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2) v Impact Montréal (3) at Empire Stadium

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
The highest seeded team in the final will determine whether it opens at home or away

18 May 2011
First Leg

25 May 2011
Second Leg

AVONDALE, AZ – Playing their second training match in as many days, Vancouver Whitecaps FC had to settle for a 2-2 draw with the United States U-18 national team in Avondale, Arizona, on Saturday.

Chinese striker Long Tan and Brazilian trialist Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo found the scoresheet for the Blue and White at the Westside Complex, which is based just west of Phoenix. Whitecaps FC were made to work hard for Saturday’s result, as Mike Matkovich’s USA U-18 squad gave the first year Major League Soccer club a real test with goals from Robert Kristo and Aaron Kovar.

“I thought the players’ performances were okay today, though I wasn’t happy with the way we played in the first half,” head coach Teitur Thordarson told whitecapsfc.com. “I actually felt that we did not adjust that well to the weather today and I mentioned that to my players at halftime. We got a reaction from them after the break and I felt we played a very good second half. It was also good to see the trialists come on in the second half and perform very well.”

Playing in very windy and wet conditions, Thordarson started many of the younger players in his squad, with several of those players getting a run-out on Saturday after not appearing in Friday’s defeat versus MLS Western Conference rivals Chivas USA. Thordarson admitted the conditions played a role in the way Saturday’s match unfolded. “The wind and the rain definitely affected the quality of the game, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

Whitecaps FC made a bright start to proceedings by taking the lead on 13 minutes. Canadian youth international Philippe Davies found Tan with a ball from the right flank. The former FC Tampa Bay striker neatly deflected a shot past USA U-18 goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton for a 1-0 Vancouver lead.

The ‘Caps then applied more pressure on their young opponents, with Davies forcing Wolverton to tip the midfielder’s free kick over his crossbar on 25 minutes.

Yet, just when another Whitecaps FC goal may have been on the cards, USA U-18′s equalized on 31 minutes from a corner. Defender Alec Cochran headed down the set-piece to striker Kristo, whose shot got past Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre to make it 1-1.

Vancouver tried to restore their advantage before the break, but midfielder Jeb Brovsky was off-target with a far-post header from a Blake Wagner corner on 44 minutes. It meant both sides went to halftime tied at 1-1.

The second half saw Whitecaps FC use their four substitutes, with Sanvezzo and Nizar Khalfan entering the match on the hour mark. Two minutes later, however, USA U-18′s took the lead through midfielder Kovar. The Seattle Sounders FC Acedemy player neatly redirected striker Vince Cicciarelli’s pass from the right past Sylvestre to make it 2-1 to the young Americans.

That second goal prompted Whitecaps FC into action, and they equalized on 72 minutes through Sanvezzo. A strong run down the right flank by the speedy Cornelius Stewart saw his shot cleared, but only to Khalfan. The Tanzanian international quickly squared the ball to Davies, whose shot deflected off a defender to the Brazilian. Sanvezzo took possession and created space for himself before firing a shot into bottom left-hand corner of the net for 2-2.

Vancouver then went searching for a match winner, but Wolverton was able to block Sanvezzo’s shot after the South American attacker made a great run through the middle, while Stewart struck the rebound over the crossbar.

It proved to be the last opportunity of the match, as Whitecaps FC and USA U-18′s had to settle for a stalemate in the end. Thordarson’s side will now turn their attentions to Sunday and the third training match of this busy weekend of action. Vancouver take on MLS Western Conference rivals Los Angeles Galaxy in a closed-door contest at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. PT.

Scoring Summary:
13′ – VAN – Long Tan (Philippe Davies)
31′ – USA – Robert Kristo (Alec Cochran)
62′ – USA – Aaron Kovar (Vince Cicciarelli)
72′ – VAN – Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo (Philippe Davies, Nizar Khalfan)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
24.Brian Sylvestre; 19.Blake Wagner, 33.Michael Boxall (40.Ryan O’Leary 74′), 34.Bilal Duckett, 8.Wes Knight; 13.Bedri Gashi (16.Nizar Khalfan 60′), 15.Philippe Davies, 32.Jeb Brovsky, 39.Cornelius Stewart; 17.Omar Salgado (9.Atiba Harris 74′), 23.Long Tan (36.Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo 60′)

USA U-18 starting XI
Andrew Wolverton; Michael Ambrose, Alec Cochran, Timothy Parker, Boyd Okwuonu; Marcus Salandy-Defour, Eric Miller, Daniel Metzger, Christopher Somerville; Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler, Robert Kristo