USSF D-II: Vancouver grabs late win, St. Louis romps past Portland

Posted Jul 29, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jul 29, 2010 at 12:52 AM

Vancouver grabs a late victory, while St. Louis ends Portland’s five-game undefeated streak ahead of the Timbers’ trip to Tampa in Wednesday’s USSF Division II action.

VANCOUVER 1, MONTREAL 0: Greg Janicki scored the only goal of the game for the Whitecaps, heading home Wes Knight’s throw-in in the 88th minute to allow Vancouver to extend its lead at the top of the NASL Conference to nine points.

It was the second straight late victory for the Whitecaps at the Stade Saputo, Luca Bellisomo’s stoppage-time goal giving them victory on their last trip. Janicki, who returned to the line-up after being suspended for the Whitecaps’ 1-1 draw with Minnesota on Sunday, was glad to have helped his team to victory.

Wes Knight’s got a hell of a throw-in and we feel it will always be a threat when he puts it up there,” Janicki told the Canadian Press. “We should have put a lot more of his balls in this year. It feels nice to finally benefit from it.”

Montreal ended their four-game home stand with two wins and two losses, and now head on the road for games against Baltimore and Carolina.

“It’s frustrating,” Impact midfielder Philippe Billy told the Canadian Press. “A goal at the end of the match is always upsetting because we had played a pretty good match in general. But if they had an edge on us it was that we weren’t aggressive enough. It seemed like the team was tired.”

ST. LOUIS 3, PORTLAND 0: Mike Ambersley scored the first hat trick in franchise history for the Saints, with two goals in three minutes in the first half proving decisive in their victory against the Timbers.

Ambersley opened the scoring in the 25th minute before latching onto a long clearance by goalkeeper Alex Dufty for a volleyed finish two minutes later to double the Saints’ advantage. Dufty made three saves for the shutout, the biggest of which came in the 43rd minute as he blocked a close-range effort from George Josten before gathering in the rebound.

Ambersley completed his hat trick in the 57th minute, capitalizing on a rebound after Portland goalkeeper Steve Cronin was unable to handle a shot by Troy Cole.

“I keep telling Troy to shoot more,’’ Ambersley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I just had to make sure I stayed onside to knock it in.’‘

Portland now travels to Tampa to face the Rowdies on Saturday night, while St. Louis hosts Minnesota on Sunday with an outside chance at the playoffs now a possibility.