Music: {allcanada} Whitecaps advance to USSF semis

Sunday, October 10, 2010

{allcanada} Whitecaps advance to USSF semis

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Vancouver Whitecaps advanced to the semifinals of the USSF Division-2 playoffs with a 2-1 aggregate win over the Portland Timbers on Sunday.

After opening the first leg of the two-game first-round series with a 2-0 win in Burnaby, B.C., on Thursday, the Whitecaps limited the Timbers to a 1-0 win in Portland on Sunday to advance.

James Marcelin scored in the second half to give the Timbers the lead over their Pacific Northwest rivals, but they couldn't get the second goal they needed to force extra time.

This will be the last time the two teams meet in the second tier of North American soccer, as both clubs will join top-tier Major League Soccer for the 2011 season.

The fifth-seeded Whitecaps will meet the No. 8-seed Puerto Rico Islanders in next week's semifinal series after the Caribbean club upset Rochester 3-2 on aggregate.

The first leg will take place in Puerto Rico next Thursday, with the second leg three days later in Burnaby.