Canadian Premier League — Match #13
Pacific FC vs. York9 FC
May 18, 2019 — Westhills Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. PT)
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

York9 FC (0-1-1) and Pacific FC (1-2-1) will look to get their Canadian Premier League Spring Season campaigns back on track at Westhills Stadium on Saturday.

The two sides will meet following a pair of disappointing results midweek in the Canadian Championship.

York9 FC drew 0-0 with PLSQ side A.S. Blainville in their first leg, first round CanChamp tilt. The York Region side had a tough time cutting through their lower-ranked opposition, only mustering a handful of shots. Saturday’s west coast affair is Y9’s first CPL match since May 4, and only their third league match this season.

Earning just one point from the last three league matches, Pacific FC’s chance at a Spring Season title is slowly getting out of reach. Their 2-0 loss to Cavalry FC in the Cup doesn’t help things either, as the league-leaders cruised to victory after two first-half goals. Michael Silberbauer did get a bit of good news in that match, though, as Marcus Haber made his return to the side following a toe injury.

Both teams will shift their focus back to the Canadian Championship following Saturday’s match. Y9 will head home to open York Lions Stadium in the club’s first home match (Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET/OneSoccer). PFC are set to head to Calgary down 2-0 in their tie with Cavalry (Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. MT/OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

• Midfield dynamics: With Joesph Di Chiara out with an injury, York9’s midfield is missing that extra something. The combination of Manny Aparicio, Emilio Estevez and Wataru Murofushi was smothered against a high-pressing Blainville side, forcing play out past the half spaces. Y9’s coaching staff will need to see something different on VanIsle if they want a result.
• Marcus Haber: PFC need their number 9 to perform. Making his return from a toe injury in the midweek match against Cavalry, Haber had a decent match but failed to score. As PFC appear more and more like a bottom-half team in this league, Haber’s contributions – as a tall, strong centre forward – will become increasingly necessary.
• Island indecision: Pacific FC seems to change how they line up every match. Silberbauer last ran out a 4-2-3-1 with Issey Nakajima-Farran in the middle. Before that? A defensive 4-1-4-1. They’ve played a 4-4-2 this season, too. It makes PFC a wild card, in a way, especially with the inclusion of a healthy Marcus Haber.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Daniel Gogarty, Luca Gasparotto, Justin Springer; Steven Furlano, Wataru Murofushi, Manny Aparicio, Ryan Telfer, Diyaeddine Abzi; Cyrus Rollocks, Simon Adjei

Pacific FC: Mark Village; Kadin Chung, Lukas MacNaughton, Emile Legault, Blake Smith; Issey Nakajima-Farran, Noah Verhoeven, Matthew Baldisimo, Ben Fisk; Terran Campbell, Marcus Haber

HEAD-TO-HEAD

First meeting between these clubs

STATS LEADERS 

Ryan Telfer & Simon Adjei – 1 goal (York9 FC)
Hendrik Starostzik & Jose Hernandez – 1 goal (Pacific FC)

INJURIES

Hendrik Starostzik (Pacific FC) – Doubtful
Marcel de Jong (Pacific FC) – Achilles
Roger Thompson (York9 FC) – Doubtful
Joseph Di Chiara (York9 FC) – Doubtful

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

None

ACCUMULATION

None

REFEREES

Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt & Stephen Lebrechthausen
4th Official: Juan Marquez