OLYMPIA, Wash. – Junior Ethan Sumlin (Littleton, Colo./Littleton HS) headed in a cross from Alberto Brand (Seattle, Wash/University HS/Highline CC) to give the Evergreen Geoducks their first goal of the 2013 season and the lead held as the green and white blanked the Trinity Lutheran Eagles, 2-0, in a non-conference men’s soccer game on Saturday afternoon at Field #3 in Olympia, Wash.
Evergreen opened up the scoring at the 31 minute mark as Brand crossed in a ball from the right side and Sumlin got a head on the ball to push it past Trinity keeper Luis Godinez. The scored stayed at 1-0 into the halftime break, with the Geoducks holding an 8-4 advantage on shots in the first 45 minutes played.
In the second half, senior Jeff Roland (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS/South Puget Sound CC) scored his first goal of the year, juking Godinez near the middle of the box before finishing on an open net. The Geoducks again outshot the Eagles in the second half by a tally of 8-5.
The Geoducks strong offensive showing was aided by a solid defensive outing, including three saves by senior keeper Collin Harlow (Kirkland, Wash./Juanita HS/Shoreline CC) as he earned the shutout.
The season opening win is the first for Evergreen since a 5-1 win over Great Falls on Aug. 20, 2007. It’s the first season-opening shutout for the Geoducks since a 5-0 win over Willamette on Sep. 3, 2004.
Evergreen takes the pitch again next Saturday for a scrimmage against Fraser Valley. Their next counting match comes on Aug. 31 as part of a doubleheader with Rocky Mountain that will feature the Geoduck women’s soccer team.