Calgary Storm Match Reports by Jason Kmet

June 15, 2003 -- Vancouver 1 at Calgary 1

LATE GOAL DRAWS STORM EVEN WITH VANCOUVER 

After a lackluster 3-0 loss in Saskatoon on Saturday, the Calgary Storm was looking for payback at Foothills Park where they had a rematch against the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

The first decent scoring opportunity happened in the 13th minute when Calgary's Jordan Gillespie weaved through a couple of Vancouver defenders and approached the Whitecaps goal.  His shot went just outside the right post.

The Whitecaps first opportunity occurred in the 17th minute when Steve Kindel took a 35 yard free kick that went just left of the net.

Conrad Chala nearly put the Storm up in the 25th minute.  His header from the left side of the box seemed innocuous, but it dangerously went just right of the goal.

A minute later, the Whitecaps took the lead on a very weak goal by Tiarnan King.  His low shot was misjudged by Storm keeper Jamie Glasnovic.

In the 39th minute, Gillespie put a corner kick into the box.  Richard Henry was waiting at the near post, and his header looked like it was going to go in the top left corner, but it hit the post.  Fellow Jamaican Jermaine Richards also hit the post in the 45th minute after receiving a good ball through from Henry.

Despite outplaying the Vancouver side in the first half, Calgary entered the locker room down one goal.

The second half began with the Whitecaps driving the play.  There were few good scoring opportunities until the 72nd minute when substitute Dave Morris headed a Jeff Clarke cross just wide of the Calgary goal.  A few minutes later Vancouver's Paul Dailly launched a blast from 40 yards out that was just punched away by Glasnovic.

The Storm tried desperately to get the tie, but had very few real chances.  In the 89th minute, Chala put the ball across the goal mouth, but nobody was there to convert.  However, as time ticked down, the Storm had a throw in deep in Vancouver's end.  Defender Liam DeSilva, who had pushed forward for the Storm, picked up the ball in front of the net and knocked it past Mike Franks to tie up the match, much to the season high crowd's delight.

Overtime did not solve anything.  The best chance was in the 98th minute when Calgary's Sean Fraser made it past a couple of Vancouver defenders at the top of the box.  He never had full control of the ball and his shot went wide.  The game ended a 1-1 draw.

STORM WARNINGS:  This was the second match over the weekend between the two clubs.  On Saturday, the Whitecaps defeated the Storm 3-0 in Saskatoon.  This was a neutral site match that counted as a Calgary home game.  Nearly 5900 fans packed Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus to see the match.  Five Storm players are from the province of Saskatchewan:  Brett Bachelu, Jordan Gillespie, Mark Korthius, Keegan Thomas, and Mike Kennedy.  Before the Storm's existence, the only Saskatchewan pro soccer player in recent memory was Kevin Holness, who spent time with the Montreal Impact, Toronto Lynx, and captained the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 2001 season.  Holness is out of pro soccer and lives in Regina.  Many Storm fans have wondered why the club never brought him in to add some experience...Missing from the Storm lineup due to injury was Jamie Auvigne and Thomas Wheeldon Jr...Storm forward Brett Bachelu made his Foothills Park debut tonight.  He has been out of action since Calgary's initial road trip in May.  His first game back was the Saskatoon match...The Whitecaps' Jason Jordan and Nick Dasovic appeared in the recent Canadian national team friendly against Germany.  Jordan did not get off the bench to earn his first "A" cap, but Dasovic started.  Vancouver has several players with national team experience, including Dasovic, Jeff Clarke, Niall Thompson, Steve Kindel, and Chris Franks...Attendance at Foothills Park has been on the rise as of late.  A combination of good weather, a better club, and interesting opponents have helped bring the fans back...The Storm's next home game is Sunday when the Seattle Sounders arrive at Foothills Park.  This game makes up for the cancelled home opener in May.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?  Ryan Gyaki's career in the A-League was amongst the briefest ever.  He came on as a substitute for four minutes last season with the Storm at the tender age of 16..  After that appearance, he became a member of the Sheffield United youth system.  Gyaki is in the Canadian national player pool for his age group.  He recently played with the Canada U18 squad that toured Austria and Slovakia.

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