National senior team defender Carlyle Mitchell scored his first MLS goal on Saturday night but it was not enough to help Vancouver Whitecaps from avoiding a 3-2 loss to Chivas USA.
The 26-year-old former Joe Public is in his fourth season with Vancouver.
“It's a great feeling getting my first goal, but unfortunately we didn't get the result,” Mitchell told reporters after Saturday’ game.
“The other team beat us, but that's water under the bridge. We have to go back out and get a win”
“I had been getting close and I said, 'One day, it will be in,'” he continued. “It was a great cross by Pedro [Morales] and I was able to finish. They say sometimes you have to make your own luck and that's what I did.”
“I think he's done great,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. “He did very well last week against Seattle. Getting a goal is always nice. We needed a goal from somewhere and Carlyle took his chance.”
Meantime, Mitchell told Vancouver press that the experience of playing against Lionel Messi and Argentina last month was second to none.
“For me as a player and for us as a team, it was a great experience to play against some of the best players in the world such as Messi, di Maria, and Mascherano. That was one of the biggest games I’ve ever played in my life for my national team. And after that game, you realize you still have a lot to learn.”