The 2007 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season was the club's 22nd year of existence (or 32nd if counting the NASL Whitecaps), as well as their 15th as a Division 2 club in the franchise model of US-based soccer leagues. After their championship 2006 season despite a number of lingering injuries, the Whitecaps started well and led the league going undefeated until late May. However, with the sudden departure to England of starting goalkeeper

Tony Caig Antony Caig (born 11 April 1974) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the Head of Academy Goalkeeping for Premier League Club Newcastle United. Playing career Caig made his name playing f ...

and unexpected early season loss of

Serge Djekanovic Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

to MLS, the Whitecaps had goalkeeping instability as they gave significant minutes to four goalkeepers in 2007. Combined with injuries, the club never recovered from the challenging schedule due to 2007 FIFA U-20 venue conflicts, the team finished 7th in the USL-1, set a club record twelve game streak without a win, subsequently executed a blockbuster four player trade of 2006 USL MVP

Joey Gjertsen Joey Gjertsen (born June 13, 1982) is an American professional soccer player. Career College Gjertsen started his college soccer at Tacoma Community College where he produced 31 goals and a school record 14 assists in his freshman campaign. He ...

, and midfielder

David Testo David Testo (born August 7, 1981) is an American retired soccer player who, after his playing career ended in 2011, became the first male American professional player of that sport to come out as gay. Testo played professionally from 2003 to 2 ...

for role players Ze Roberto and Surrey, BC native Alen Marcina, and set a club record for number of draws with twelve. A run of games at home to end the season in seventh place (in the playoffs due to a 2007 format change) and the resolution of injuries left the Whitecaps competitive in the second season of the playoffs. They lost a close playoff series to rival

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

with a 1–0 home leg getting overturned in a much closer than the score indicated 3–0 second leg loss (in which right back

Geordie Lyall Geordie Lyall (born September 15, 1976) is a Canadian former professional soccer player. He spent virtually his entire career playing for Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps, with the exception of a brief period in England with lower-league club W ...

suffered a broken leg) to finish their disappointing season. Coach Bob Lilley was released at the end of the playoffs before the LA Galaxy friendly. Local rivals Seattle (2005 Champion) and Portland both had strong seasons with Seattle capturing league and playoff titles. The schedule was not balanced; it was home and away versus each side with additional matches against Seattle, Portland, Minnesota, and expansion side San Francisco based California Victory. Average attendance increased again and remained above 5,000. Three double-headers were played with the Whitecaps Women, the USL W-League. The season's results for both the men's and women's teams may have been disappointing compared to the club's historical competitive norm, but off the field the club was strengthening its foundations.

2007 club growth

A number of factors raised the profile of the Whitecaps beginning in 2007. First after reaching the semi-final stage a number of times, the Whitecaps USL-1 championship in 2006, the first since the

CSL CSL as an abbreviation may stand for: Places * Coordinated Science Laboratory, at the University of Illinois * Liège Space Center (Centre spatial de Liège), at the University of Liege in Belgium * Central Science Laboratory, a former UK DEFRA ...

four-peat in the early 1990s, gave the club a higher profile. Second Canada hosting the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...

was significant for building media credibility and soccer infrastructure across the country with stadiums built in Toronto ( National Soccer Stadium), approved in Montreal ( Saputo Stadium opened in 2008), and partially approved in Vancouver (

Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium The Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium was a proposed open-air soccer facility in Vancouver, British Columbia that would have been privately funded and developed by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The proposed location was north of Gastown on the central wat ...

approved by City of Vancouver pending resolution of Port of Metro Vancouver land transfer). Third the start of play and off-field success of Toronto FC encouraged speculation that Vancouver would pursue a Division 1 MLS franchise. Fourth one of the two local rivals of the Whitecaps, the Seattle Sounders, over the course of 2007 had more and more credible rumors of being announced as a 2009 MLS expansion side; this was announced November 13, 2007. Fifth

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

signed for the Los Angeles Galaxy giving soccer significant and sustained North American media attention as well as national legitimacy. Sixth helped by connections to the LA Galaxy coaching staff, there was ongoing speculation in the local newspapers about a LA Galaxy-Whitecaps friendly almost from when the David Beckham signing was announced. On April 17 Whitecaps announced the friendly against David Beckham and the LA Galaxy for October 3 at 60,000 seat

BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

. Despite marketing impacts from an August injury, he played, and it was a 0–0 draw played in front of 48,172 spectators. Seventh the Whitecaps started a club for local business leaders to advise and advocate for the team called Kickstarters. The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup impacted the Whitecaps' season with a six-game road trip from June 22 to July 7 kicked off a lull in form where the team went 1-7-5 (W-D-L) and didn't recover until a six-game home stand beginning in mid August. However, as well as media exposure, the U-20 World Cup also spurred $300,000 upgrades to

Swangard Stadium Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for soccer, rugby, football, and athletics, the stadium also used to be home to the Simon Fraser Clan football team and the Vancouver Whitec ...

including 1,500 individual seats with backs and 36 VIP seats replacing a section of the grandstand's bleachers, better stadium lighting, and better access and egress within the stadium. The upgrades in seating and access/egress reduced Swangard Stadium's capacity from 5,722 to 5,288.

Schedule and results

Tables

Exhibition

The preseason schedule was announced March 14, 2007 along with a four-week training camp at Simon Fraser University.

USL-1

Results by round

Post-season

Voyageurs Cup

Voyageur Cup standings

Prior to 2008, from when it has been awarded to the

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

winners, the men's title was decided on regular-season matches between Canada's USL First Division sides.

Cascadia Cup

Staff

Bob Lenarduzzi succeeded John Rocha in the off season as president. John Rocha stepped down in August 2006 to focus on the

as Vancouver site chairman while continuing to support the Whitecaps in a consulting role.

Soccer operations

* Manager soccer operations – Greg Anderson * Team operations – Lindsay Puchlik * Men's head coach – Bob Lilley * Men's assistant coach – Todd Wawrousek * Reserve team men's head coach – * Women's head coach – Bob Birarda * Reserve team women's head coach * Communication manager – Nathan Vanstone * Marketing – Kim Jackman

Business operations

* Office manager – Lindsay Puchlik * Director sponsorship services – Steve Lewarne * Accounting – Wynford Owen

Youth program

* Director youth operations – Dan Lenarduzzi * Super Y teams manager – Nanci Robertson * Coaching staff technical director and boys' director –

Tony Fonseca Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

* Girls' head coach – Steve Simonson * Head coach development – Jesse Symons * Director goalkeeping – Michael Toshack * Manager community soccer programs – Joe Martin

Event management

* Director event operations – Rachel Lewis * Operations/game day manager – Hillary Campbell

Current roster

It was a low-scoring year with many players used over the 28 game schedule. Only three players logged 2000 minutes or more; Tony Donatelli led the Whitecaps with 27 appearances. Eduardo Sebrango led the Whitecaps with seven goals and was in a six-way tie for seventh among the USL-1 goal scorers while Martin Nash was tied for third in the USL-1 with six assists in the league.

Player movement

Centre back

Ryan Suarez Ryan Shepard Suarez (born July 28, 1977) is an American soccer player, who last played in United Soccer Leagues for the California Victory. Born in Sacramento, Suarez graduated from Oakmont High School in nearby Roseville, California. Suarez pl ...

retired due family commitments; in 2006 he was a late season addition to a defense that allowed no goals in playoffs. Victoria, BC native and eight year Whitecaps right back Geordie Lyall signed a contract with League 2 side

Walsall F.C. Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

in December 2006. He wasn't playing with Walsall FC towards the end of their season however and by mid May was being pursued by the Whitecaps. Defender Lyle Martin from California was announced on March 26. Due to injury recovery to forwards Joey Gjertsen and Jason Jordan, the Whitecaps signed forward Joel Baily as insurance on March 29. Baily had been a strike partner of Eduardo Sebrango's previously in Montreal under coach Lilley. The Whitecaps traded

Sita-Taty Matondo Sita-Taty Matondo (born December 28, 1984, in Kinshasa, Zaire) is a Congolese-born Canadian former soccer player who played the majority of his career in Quebec with clubs in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec, USL A-League/First Division, and Can ...

back to Montreal Impact for

Jason McLaughlin Jason McLaughlin (born April 14, 1982 in Provo, Utah) is an American soccer player who last played for Portland Timbers U23s in the USL Premier Development League. Career College and amateur McLaughlin grew up in Wetumpka, Alabama, and attend ...

just as preseason was concluding. With the transition in the back line given the losses of Ryan Suarez and Geordie Lyall plus early season injuries to Steve Klein, the Whitecaps also brought in centre back Narcisse Tchoumi-Tchandja on April 12, 2007. The signing of two local players defender Nigel Marples of North Delta and Surrey goalkeeper Tyler Baldock was announced April 24. Goalkeeper

Srdjan Djekanović Srdjan Djekanovic (Serbian: Срђан Ђекановић/Srđan Đekanović; born 8 January 1983) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player. Career Early career in Europe Djekanovic's professional career has included stops at Zemun, Zmaj, ...

was signed April 27 by Division 1 side Toronto FC after a one-week trial to back up Greg Sutton. The Whitecaps signed former Toronto Lynx goalkeeper Richard Goddard to the new backup goalkeeper position on April 27. ''As of the end of the season.''

Goalkeeper stats

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, 990 , 32 , 9 , 0.818 , 3 , 990 , 32 , 9 , 0.818 , 3 , , , , , , - , style="text-align: right;" , 1 , , style="text-align: left;" , Matthew Nelson , 450 , 14 , 4 , 0.80 , 3 , 270 , 7 , 1 , 0.333 , 2 , 180 , 7 , 3 , 1.50 , 1 , - , style="text-align: right;" , 29 , , style="text-align: left;" , Richard Goddard , 968 , 26 , 10 , 0.929 , 4 , 968 , 26 , 10 , 0.929 , 4 , , , , , , - , style="text-align: right;" , 29 , , style="text-align: left;" ,

Lutz Pfannenstiel Lutz Pfannenstiel (born 12 May 1973) is a German former professional football goalkeeper, coach, scout, TV analyst and the current sporting director for St. Louis City SC. He holds the record for the only footballer to play professionally in ea ...

, 292 , 5 , 4 , 0.1.232 , 1 , 292 , 5 , 4 , 1.232 , 1 , , , , ,

Player statistics

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" , - ! scope=col rowspan="2" valign="bottom", No. ! scope=col rowspan="2" valign="bottom" data-sort-type="text" , Pos. ! scope=col rowspan="2" valign="bottom" data-sort-type="text" , Name ! scope=col , Apps ! scope=col , Minutes ! scope=col , Goals ! scope=col , Assists ! scope=col , Shots ! scope=col , Fouls ! scope=col , ! scope=col , , - , align=left, 1, , align=left, GK, , align=left,

, 11, , 990, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 1, , align=left, GK, , align=left, Matthew Nelson , 5, , 450, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 2, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Jeff Clarke , 26, , 2249, , 1, , 0, , 12, , 27, , 6, , 0 , - , align=left, 2, , align=left, MF, , align=left, Steve Klein , 24(2), , 2209, , 1, , 1, , 4, , 9, , 1, , 1 , - , align=left, 4, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Adrian Cann , 26(1), , 742, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 14, , 2, , 0 , - , align=left, 6, , align=left, MF, , align=left, James Alberts , 8(13), , 802, , 2, , 1, , 12, , 10, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 7, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Martin Nash Martin Nash (born December 27, 1975) is a Canadian association football, soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of York United FC, York United of the Canadian Premier League. A five-time all-league selection in the USL ...

, 26(1), , 2179, , 3, , 6, , 23, , 36, , 3, , 0 , - , align=left, 8, , align=left, DF, , align=left,

Steve Kindel Steve Kindel (born February 25, 1977) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Surrey United Firefighters. Career Club Kindel was a former standout at Simon Fraser University, where he won the 1997 NAIA Pacific Northwest Conference ...

, 23(1), , 2035, , 0, , 3, , 13, , 24, , 4, , 0 , - , align=left, 9, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Alfredo Valente Alfredo Valente (born November 6, 1980) is a former Canadian association football, soccer midfielder who formerly played for the Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010), Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division (USL-1). Valente played 11 seasons ...

, 15(11), , 1246, , 2, , 2, , 27, , 33, , 5, , 0 , - , align=left, 11, , align=left, FW, , align=left, Alen Marcina , 5(2), , 408, , 1, , 1, , 5, , 4, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 11, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

, 13(3), , 1012, , 1, , 1, , 10, , 32, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 12, , align=left, FW, , align=left,

Eduardo Sebrango Eduardo Sebrango Rodríguez (born 13 April 1973) is a retired Cuban footballer. Career Club Sebrango started his career in Cuba with his hometown team, Sancti Spíritus where he played with the club for 14 seasons as both a youth and a senior ...

, 13(5), , 1139, , 7, , 1, , 32, , 16, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 13, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

, 11(4), , 961, , 0, , 1, , 7, , 13, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 14, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Tony Donatelli Anthony "Tony" Donatelli (born June 7, 1984 in Glenside, Pennsylvania) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Baltimore Blast of the Major Arena Soccer League. Career Youth and College Donatelli played for Hunter Soccer ...

, 24(5), , 2111, , 4, , 2, , 47, , 29, , 2, , 0 , - , align=left, 15, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

, 5(16), , 595, , 0, , 1, , 13, , 22, , 2, , 0 , - , align=left, 16, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Narcisse Tchoumi-Tchandja , 6(3), , 470, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 17, , 2, , 0 , - , align=left, 17, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Ze Roberto Z.E. or Ze can refer to: Arts and mythology * ''Ze'' (manga) * Bai Ze, a beast in Chinese legend * Zé Povinho, a Portuguese everyman character * Zé Pilintra, a folkloric and spiritual character from the Afro-Brazilian and regional religions Bu ...

, 8, , 659, , 0, , 0, , 8, , 10, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 17, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

, 15(4), , 1365, , 3, , 1, , 36, , 11, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 18, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Graham Smith , 0(4), , 85, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 18, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Josh Hansen Joshua Randolph Hansen (born January 16, 1982 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American-born Puerto Rican international football player. Career College Hansen attended Greenway High School and played four years of college soccer at the University ...

, 8(1), , 519, , 0, , 0, , 8, , 10, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 19, , align=left, FW, , align=left, Martin Johnston , 0(2), , 13, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 20, , align=left, DF, , align=left, David Morris , 7(13), , 664, , 0, , 0, , 7, , 16, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 22, , align=left, DF, , align=left,

Nigel Marples Nigel Marples (born November 3, 1985) is a Canadian football player and coach. Career College Marples attended North Delta High School and played college soccer at Towson University, where he was a four-year starter and two year captain. Durin ...

, 1(1), , 74, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, 0 , - , align=left, 23, , align=left, FW, , align=left,

Joel John Bailey Joel John Bailey (born February 17, 1980) is a forward who last played for the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. He played three seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League. Club career Indoor Bailey began his indoor soccer career in 20 ...

, 6(8), , 603, , 0, , 1, , 11, , 24, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 24, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Lyle Martin , 19(5), , 1567, , 0, , 0, , 6, , 18, , 2, , 0 , - , align=left, 25, , align=left, MF, , align=left, Sola Abolaji , (1), , 29, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 26, , align=left, FW, , align=left, Jason Jordan , 5(7), , 390, , 2, , 1, , 10, , 5, , 1, , 0 , - , align=left, 27, , align=left, MF, , align=left,

Stefan Leslie Stefan Leslie (born October 23, 1987) is a Canadian soccer player currently playing for Surrey United in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League. Career Youth and College Leslie was born in Richmond, British Columbia. Leslie attended William F. Da ...

, 1(5), , 106, , 0, , 0, , 1, 3, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 28, , align=left, DF, , align=left, Diaz Kambere , 10(6), , 933, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 9, , 4, , 0 , - , align=left, 29, , align=left, GK, , align=left, Richard Goddard , 11, , 968, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, 29, , align=left, GK, , align=left,

, 3(1), , 292, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , align=left, —, , align=left, –, , align=left, Opponent Own goals , –, , –, , 1, , –, , –, , –, , –, , –

References

{{2007 in American soccer Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) seasons Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps