BLAINE, MN – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 hoped to spoil Minnesota United FC 2’s playoff quest, but the young Loons were victorious by a 5-1 scoreline at the National Sports Centre in Blaine, Minnesota on Saturday night.
Early on, WFC2 goalkeeper Sam Rogers was under siege. The Loons opened their account when a Hector Cruz through ball sent striker Darius Randell free. He bolted past the back line to clinically finish past Rogers.
The 18-year-old Cruz turned from set-up man to scorer for the 2-0 advantage. Randell added two more goals, with a tap-in for the hat trick before the half-hour.
Whitecaps FC 2 came inches from glory off a Cristiano Bruletti corner kick. He whipped in a looping ball to the far post, where captain Trevor Wright’s powerful header beat outstretched Loons goalkeeper Kristers Bite, but the attempt rang off the crossbar.
In the second half, WFC2 tore up Bite’s clean sheet bid. After sustained pressure, central midfielder Carson Rassak flashed a corner across goal for oncoming substitute Tyler Brown, who went airborne for an authoritative top-corner header to cut into the deficit.
The Loons added a late Jordan Adebayo-Smith strike for the 5-1 final.
Next up, fans will have one last chance to cheer on the young ’Caps, as they host their 2026 season finale against San Jose Earthquakes II on Sunday, September 20 at 2 p.m. PT. WFC2 tickets are only $10 each. Tickets can be purchased through Universe. Also, season ticket members can receive free admission. Access the complimentary WFC2 tickets by using your account number as the access key at checkout. Youth who are 18 and under get in free.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Salvador Flores
Scoring Summary
6’ – MIN – Darius Randell (Hector Cruz)
17’ – MIN – Hector Cruz
20’ – MIN – Darius Randell
27’ – MIN – Darius Randell
56’ – VAN – Tyler Brown (Carson Rassak)
90+1’ – MIN – Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Alpha Kabia)
Cautions
18’ – VAN – Valter Sedin
45’ – VAN – Manav Badwal
53’ – MIN – Hector Cruz
90+3’ – VAN – Immanuel Mathe
Statistics
Possession: MIN 44% – VAN 56%
Shots: MIN 25 – VAN 13
Shots on Goal: MIN 12 – VAN 2
Saves: MIN 1 – VAN 7
Fouls: MIN – VAN 0
Offsides: MIN 9 – VAN 18
Corners: MIN 9 – VAN 6
Minnesota United FC 2
98.Kristers Bite; 92.Alpha Kabia, 31.Nick Dang, 97.Jack Clarkson; 90.Luciano Pechota (38.Keith Romanshyn 67’), 35.Phillip Tarnue (66.Brody Schauf 80’), 36.Jakob Friedman (39.Luke Hille 67’); 75.Hector Cruz, 95.Sam Vigilante; 29.Mamadou Dieng (32.Troy Putt 76’), 17.Darius Randell (99.Jordan Adebayo-Smith 67’)
Substitutes not used
54.Alexander Witte, 51.Calin Grulke
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
60.Sam Rogers; 53.Immanuel Mathe, 46.Cristiano Bruletti, 43.Trevor Wright ©, 48.Micaah Garnette; 49.Valter Sedin, 71.Manav Badwal (64.Tyler Brown HT); 66.Sahil Deo, 61.Carson Rassak, 41.Nikola Djordjevic, 51.Kevin Podgorni (72.Aiden Bejaoui 76’)
Substitutes not used
90.Marko Kos, 56.Liam Campagna, 58.Jesse Peace
BLAINE, MN – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 hoped to spoil Minnesota United FC 2’s playoff quest, but the young Loons rebuffed that attempt with a 5-1 victory.
Early on, WFC2 goalkeeper Sam Rogers was under siege. The Loons opened their account when a Hector Cruz through ball sent striker Darius Randell free. He bolted past the back line to clinically finish past Rogers.
The 18-year-old Cruz turned from set-up man to scorer for 2-0. Randell tacked on two more goals, with a tap-in for the hat trick before the half-hour.
Whitecaps FC 2 came inches from glory off a Cristiano Bruletti corner kick. He cracked a looping ball to the far post, where captain Trevor Wright’s powerful header beat outstretched Loons ’keeper Kristers Bite – but the attempt rang off the crossbar.
In the second half, WFC2 tore up Bite’s clean sheet bid. After sustained pressure, central midfielder Carson Rassak rounded the corner to flash across goal for oncoming substitute Tyler Brown.
Brown went airborne for an authoritative top-corner header to cut into the deficit. The Loons added a late Jordan Adebayo-Smith strike for a 5-1 final.
Next up, you have one last chance to cheer on the young ’Caps. Whitecaps FC 2 will host their 2026 finale versus San Jose Earthquakes II on Sunday, September 20 at 2 p.m. PT.
For every home match this season, WFC2 tickets are only $10 each. Tickets can be purchased through Universe. Also, season ticket members can receive free admission.
Access the complimentary WFC2 tickets by using your account number as the access key at checkout.
Youth who are 18 and under get in free.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Salvador Flores
Scoring Summary
6’ – MIN – Darius Randell (Hector Cruz)
17’ – MIN – Hector Cruz
20’ – MIN – Darius Randell
27’ – MIN – Darius Randell
56’ – VAN – Tyler Brown (Carson Rassak)
90+1’ – MIN – Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Alpha Kabia)
Cautions
18’ – VAN – Valter Sedin
45’ – VAN – Manav Badwal
53’ – MIN – Hector Cruz
90+3’ – VAN – Immanuel Mathe
Statistics Possession: MIN 44% – VAN 56% Shots: MIN 25 – VAN 13
Shots on Goal: MIN 12 – VAN 2
Saves: MIN 1 – VAN 7 Fouls: MIN – VAN 0 Offsides: MIN 9 – VAN 18 Corners: MIN 9 – VAN 6
Minnesota United FC 2
98.Kristers Bite; 92.Alpha Kabia, 31.Nick Dang, 97.Jack Clarkson; 90.Luciano Pechota (38.Keith Romanshyn 67’), 35.Phillip Tarnue (66.Brody Schauf 80’), 36.Jakob Friedman (39.Luke Hille 67’); 75.Hector Cruz, 95.Sam Vigilante; 29.Mamadou Dieng (32.Troy Putt 76’), 17.Darius Randell (99.Jordan Adebayo-Smith 67’)
Substitutes not used
54.Alexander Witte, 51.Calin Grulke
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
60.Sam Rogers; 53.Immanuel Mathe, 46.Cristiano Bruletti, 43.Trevor Wright ©, 48.Micaah Garnette; 49.Valter Sedin, 71.Manav Badwal (64.Tyler Brown HT); 66.Sahil Deo, 61.Carson Rassak, 41.Nikola Djordjevic, 51.Kevin Podgorni (72.Aiden Bejaoui 76’)
Substitutes not used
90.Marko Kos, 56.Liam Campagna, 58.Jesse Peace
