OLYMPIA, Wash.  –  A corner kick off the foot of Andrew Cota found the crossbar before bouncing to the waiting forehead of Alex Vukic, who guided the ball in as the Menlo Oaks defeated the Evergreen Geoducks, 1-0, in a non-conference NAIA men’s soccer match on Thursday evening at Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.

After two unsuccessful shots early in the period, the Oaks got on the board in the ninght minute as Cota fed the ball into the box, skimming the kick off the middle of the crossbar and Vukic found it to score what would end up being the only goal of the game.  Despite allowing the goal, Evergreen keeper Mitch Treend (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie HS) made a pair of nice saves to keep the Geoducks competitive at halftime.

In the second half, the Geoducks turned up the offensive pressure, unleashing three shots on goal that Alex Palomarez was forced to stop.  Evergreen’s best opportunity came with less than a minute left on the clock as Jeremy Novack (Lake Forest Park, Wash./Shorecrest HS) dribbled around Palomarez and fired a shot on net but a Menlo defender was able to clear the ball of the line to preserve the win.

Menlo held a slight advantage in shots at 8-6 while each team finished with three saves on the evening.  The Geoducks were whistled for offsides twice, compared with just one for Menlo.

Evergreen will look to bounce back on Monday afternoon when they play host to Rocky Mountain in the second game of a men’s/women’s doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.  The Oaks return to the pitch on Saturday when they travel up to Kirkland to take on Northwest University, beginning at 1 p.m.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash.  –  Playing a rare morning game and the season opener for both squads, the Trinity Lutheran Eagles used a pair of second half goals to defeat the Evergreen Geoducks, 3-1, in a non-conference men’s soccer match on Saturday morning on Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.

The Eagles got on the board first as Frank Casillas passed a ball into the middle in the seventh minute, allowing Sergio Martinez to put the ball on goal for the early lead.  That was the only scoring in the first half as Trinity Lutheran outshot the Geoducks, 7-5, in the opening 45 minutes.

In the second half, it was the Eagles again striking first in the 60th minute as Cesar Gonzalez fired off a perfectly-place cross on the right post, allowing Amin Lemrini to put it in the net with just one touch.

The Geoducks scored their first goal of the season in the 64th minute when Brady Espinoza (Pasco, Wash./Walla Walla CC) took advantage of a free kick from 25 yards out, placing the ball in the upper left corner to cut the gap to just one goal at 2-1.

Trinity Lutheran closed out the scoring in the 83rd minute as Sekou Rolland crossed Evergreen keeper Mitch Treend (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie HS) and bounced the ball off the post for the 3-1 final.

Both teams were equally impressive offensively, as each team was credited with 10 shots.  Treend made three saves for Evergreen while TLC keeper Daniel Nadeau made five saves, allowing the one goal.  The match was also a physical one with seven combined cautions shown.

The Geoducks will be back on the pitch on Aug. 30 when they play host to Menlo.  Kickoff with the Oaks is set for 5 p.m. on Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.

Box Score

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Due to excessive heat predicted in Olympia on Friday, the Evergreen Geoducks and Trinity Lutheran Eagles have agreed to postpone the start of their season-opening match to 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The match was originally scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. on Friday but due to an Excessive Heat Warning issued by the National Weather Service, the decision was made to move the match back.

According to The Weather Channel, the high on Olympia on Friday is expected to reach 93 degrees with little wind.  Combined with the expected humidity of 52%, the heat index is predicted at 102 degrees.

Saturday is expected to be much cooler, with an expected high of 75 degrees later in the day.