FRISCO, Texas — Special players step up on the biggest stages and young Vancouver Whitecaps FC attacker Simon Colyn proved Saturday at the Generation adidas Cup that he is one of those special players.
After spending the entire preseason with the first team getting valuable match experience at the Pacific Rim Cup, the 17-year-old Homegrown signing is in Frisco with his academy counterparts this week as the Whitecaps look to take home GA Cup. He wasted no time in playing his part, scoring a jaw-dropping goal in the second half of Vancouver’s comprehensive 3-0 win over the New England Revolution curling a first-time shot from the top of the box into the far corner.
"I saw the defenders were standing off a bit and there was some space at the top of the box, so I called for him to lay it off to me. It was a decent strike I think,” Colyn told MLSsoccer.com with a cheeky smile. "It’s got to be pretty high [on my best goals], because I don’t score too many good goals, but that was definitely one of them."
Having made his first team MLS debut at the end of the 2018 season, 2019 is all about consolidating his role and turning heads as he looks to work his way into Marc Dos Santos’s side. Moments like Sunday’s goal show just how much confidence is brimming from the teenager.
Colyn added a second goal later in the day as Vancouver trounced Jamaican side Mount Pleasant FA 6-0.
"Being with the first team over preseason and playing in some of the games gave me some confidence,” said Colyn. “Because I and some of the other boys who came from the academy with us, we saw were almost at their level or are at their level at some moments.”
Indeed, Colyn’s goal on Sunday afternoon would be one of those moments that even Fredy Montero or Russell Teibert would be happy to claim.
“Obviously, I’m looking to try to get more minutes with the first team, but that starts here with the academy,” said Colyn. “So I just try to play my best and when I get back to Vancouver, keep improving on that.”
