June 17, 2023...Preview: Pacific FC vs. York United - 2023 Match #41 (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: Pacific FC vs. York United — 2023 Match #41
2023-06-17
by BENEDICT RHODES, CANPL.CA CONTRIBUTOR (@BTFR17)
2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #41
Pacific FC vs. York United
June 18, 2023 at 1 p.m. PT/ 4 p.m. ET
Starlight Stadium in Langford, British Columbia
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This weekend’s Canadian Premier League schedule ends on Vancouver Island on Sunday, as Pacific FC host York United
at Starlight Stadium. Currently first and second place in the table, this match promises to be an exciting one between
two teams that are on unbeaten streaks, six games without a loss for Pacific, and five for York.
The last time the Nine Stripes lost, in fact, was a May 14 match in this very fixture. First half goals from Amer Ðidic
and Manny Aparicio got the Tridents off to a good start, before Kevin Dos Santos pulled one back just after the break.
Pacific ended any hopes for a comeback later in the match, however, as David Brazão and Easton Ongaro put the game
to bed with late goals.
Since then, York have won four of five matches — beating Forge FC, Atlético Ottawa, Cavalry FC and the Halifax Wanderers
— also drawing with Valour FC on the road in a difficult stretch of matches. They’ve only conceded three times in that
span, scoring nine times, as they’ve gone from bottom feeders to strong playoff contenders in the blink of an eye.
Last week they picked up a 2-1 victory over Ottawa, cancelling out an early goal from Zach Verhoven with a Luke Singh
own goal, and a late winner from Osaze De Rosario — his long-awaited first goal of the season.
Pacific, meanwhile, are on a six-game unbeaten run that also includes wins over Forge and Ottawa. The Tridents have also
beaten Vancouver FC and York United in that span, as well as picking up draws against the Halifax Wanderers and Valour FC.
Last weekend they beat the Hammers at Tim Hortons Field, taking advantage of a late breakdown in communication from
Triston Henry and Dom Samuel, which gave Djenairo Daniels an easy shot to win the game and pick up all three points.
The Tridents have a game in hand over York, and two over third-place Forge, so Sunday’s match presents a big opportunity
for them to start to open up a bit of a gap for themselves at the top of the table as they look to chase the regular season
title and a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Alternatively, if York wins on the road, they would jump into first place
in the table at the end of matchday eleven.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
Top of the table of the clash as first and second place sides go head-to-head: There aren’t many things during the regular
season more exciting than a meeting of the two top teams in the league. That will be the case on Sunday at Starlight Stadium,
as the first-place Tridents host the trailing Nine Stripes in Langford. Both sides enter this match in great form,
with Pacific unbeaten in their past six league matches, and York unbeaten in five. It was actually a 4-1 loss at this
very stadium that kicked York into gear, as Pacific won comfortably to give the visitors the wake up call they clearly
needed. Now, 35 days later, they meet again — both looking to end the weekend top of the table.
De Rosario off the mark, needs to now find consistency: After really struggling to start the season, York United striker
Osaze De Rosario finally scored his first goal of the season last week, the 80th-minute winning goal to earn his side
a 2-1 victory over Atlético Ottawa at home. “It got the monkey off his back for the season, now he hopefully can just
relax and get on with it,” head coach Martin Nash said on Friday. “He’s been getting into goal scoring positions a lot,
just hasn’t been going his way, the same with Brian [Wright].” The challenge now for De Rosario is to prove that he can
find a bit of consistency now and start putting the ball into the back of the net with more regularity, as he did in 2022
when he nearly won the Golden Boot. Nash added that next on the agenda is also to get Wright off the mark.
Can York get payback for tough loss in previous visit to Vancouver Island?: York United’s last trip to Langford wasn’t one
that they will look back on fondly — losing 4-1 to Pacific in mid-May. Amer Ðidic opened the scoring just seven minutes in,
before former York captain Manny Aparicio doubled their advantage later in the half. Kevin Dos Santos gave York a lifeline
ten minutes after the break, but late goals from David Brazão and Easton Ongaro saw the Tridents walk away with a big 4-1
victory. York have not lost since then, and will be keen to avenge that defeat, with Martin Nash saying on Friday that
he wants to “see if we can react and respond to what happened last time.”
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Pacific FC: Baskett; Dada-Luke, Ðidic, Meilleur-Giguère, Lajeunesse; Toussaint, Aparicio; Heard, Young, Sellouf; Ongaro
York United: Giantsopoulos; Gee, Thompson, Mourdoukoutas, Faye; Soumaoro, Gagnon-Laparé; Bayiha, Babouli, Ricci, De Rosario
ALL-TIME SERIES
Pacific FC wins: 4 || York United wins: 5 || Draws: 5
Last meeting:
May 14, 2023 – Pacific FC 4-1 York United
KEY QUOTES
“I think it’s a game that the neutrals, or the fans, can appreciate for sure. York’s had a really good run of results and performances
since our last game here, and we’re coming off a big win against Forge. It’s still early in the season, but it sets up a really
interesting match and a good challenge for both teams.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
“It’s going to be a difficult game, a bit of a chess match I think. We’ve got to come with energy because they play with a lot
of energy, they’ve got a lot of quality, and they’re really good at home. We’re going to be up for it, we already went there this year
and they shifted a few goals on us. We’ve seen it, and now let’s see if we can react and respond to what happened last time.”
— York United head coach Martin Nash
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