OLYMPIA, Wash. – In a match that saw seven goals, four cards and overtime, it was the Northwest Eagles who proved victorious but not without a valiant effort by the Evergreen Geoducks, 4-3, in a Cascade Conference men’s soccer match on Saturday afternoon on Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.
After a scoreless first half, the Eagles (6-2-3, 5-1-1 CCC) got on the board first in the 50th minute when Alfredo Martinez put in a free kick from about 20 yards out for the 1-0 NU lead. The Geoducks (2-7-1, 1-5-1 CCC) evened it up in the 57th minute when Brice Boum (Doula, Cameroon/Edmonds CC) got his head on a free kick from George Bundy (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw HS) following a Northwest yellow card.
Northwest took the lead again in the 70th minute when Joel Pelton gathered a rebound following a save by Evergreen keeper Mitch Treend (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie HS) and shot on the open net for a 2-1 Northwest lead.
Evergreen made it 2-2 in the 80th minute when Bundy fed in a ball to Josh Strasser (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue HS), who then found a wide-open Ramon Ramos (Tacoma, Wash./South Puget Sound CC), who finished on an open net for the goal.
The Geoducks took their only lead of the match in the 88th minute when Sean Keegan (Port Angeles, Wash./Bellevue College) fed in a ball to Strasser, who finished for eight yards out as it looked like Evergreen would get the win. The celebration was short-lived as Northwest evened it up in the 89th minute on a great shot from Esquivel that snuck past Treend and forced overtime.
In extra time, the teams played even for most of the first period but Northwest’s Taylor Young broke away in the final minute of the first overtime and finished from about eight yards out for the game winner and the 4-3 Northwest victory.
Evergreen played the final 30 minutes down a man after Kevin Flavin (Oak Harbor, Wash./Shoreline CC) was shown a red card for dissent immediately following a yellow card for simulation.
Treend finished with six saves for the Geoducks while Joe Galbraith made a pair of saves for the Eagles.
The Geoducks remain at home next week when they play host to College of Idaho on Friday afternoon. First kick with the ‘Yotes is set for 3:00 p.m. on Evergreen Pitch.
