SNOHOMISH, WA—The Snohomish County FC Steelheads rallied from behind twice scoring an important Northwest Premier League Indoor 7-5 win over the Oly Town FC Artesians on Saturday night March 26 at the Snohomish Sports Dome.
Chalise Baysa scored two goals and Mariah Roggow added a goal and two assists to the victory. The SnoCo FC defense held strong on an Oly Town power play as the clock ticked down to the final buzzer.
Artesians Lead After First Quarter
Oly Town FC took a 1-0 lead at 10:29 left in the first quarter when Chelsea Still netted a goal at the end of a power play advantage.
It took about three and a half minutes for the Steelheads to reply. Chalise Baysa made it 1-1 at 6:58 when she tapped in a rebound of a shot from Alicia Barker that had been stopped but not cleared by Artesians goalkeeper Marisol Vargas.
Oly Town regained the lead with 1:56 left in the first quarter on a dart from Meghan Hamell.
2022 NWPLi Standings
| Club | Games | Points | Win | Loss | Draw | GF | GA | GD |
| Tacoma Galaxy | 6 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 20 | +18 |
| Snohomish County | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 17 | +6 |
| Oly Town Artesians | 6 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 46 | +2 |
| Oly-Pen Force | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 32 | -7 |
| Whatcom Waves | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 37 | -19 |
Steelheads Rally In Second Quarter
The Snohomish offense started to swim in the second quarter but not before Kailey Utley put the Artesians up 3-1 on a blast beneath the bar at 9:35.
The Steelheads got closer on a goal from Mariah Roggow that came after an unusual sequence in which Oly Town goalkeeper Vargas was called for a handball outside of her box. The referee called a one-on-one opportunity from a restart at the red line. Roggow took the restart. Her initial shot was stopped but Mariah got the ball back and scored the second chance at 6:02 left in the period to make it 3-2.
The series of events rattled the visitors a bit and the Steelheads kept going. They tied the match 3-3 at 2:39 when Maggie Tonkin got a ball into Nicole Nsa that she controlled and rolled under the goalkeeper.
Just 24 seconds later the Fish went up 4-3 when goalkeeper Kaitlin MacKenzie delivered a long ball to the left boards that Alma Mana’o connected with perfectly. Alma toe poked a shot into the Oly Town goal.
Watch the Steelheads match goals reel below!
Oly Town Rallies, But All Even After Three
Oly Town scored two straight goals in the third quarter to take a 5-4 lead before the Fish answered back. Utley scored her second goal of the night for Oly Town at 5:05 left in the period. Then Chelsea Still got her second of the night with 51 seconds left in the third and the Artesians were up 5-4.
Alicia Barker answered just 24 seconds later with a blast from outside the box on an assist from Mariah Roggow. It’ was 5-5, setting up a nerve-pounding final quarter.
Defense Clamps Down, Offense Finds A Way
The Steelheads defense clamped down in the fourth quarter. For over 10 minutes the match remained 5-5 with chances for both sides. The Fish finally took a 6-5 lead at 3:45 to play on a restart at the top of the box. Kiana Jacobson began the play, dishing over to the right and finding Jordyn Bartelson. Bartelson quickly moved the ball into the Oly Town box where a waiting Chalise Baysa nutmegged her defender for the match winner. It was 6-5 Fish, and time to hang on.
The Artesians were awarded another power play with just over two minutes to go. They had numerous chances to tie the match but the Steelheads defense held strong. As the countdown began over the public address system the Steelheads cleared the ball from the far back and scored a thrilling emphasis goal at the buzzer.
Kylee Billings blasted the ball forward to Mariah Roggow. Mariah calmly rolled a pass over the Jordyn Bartelson. Jordyn scored with :01 left and the buzzer sounded as the crowd cheered.
What The Result Means
The big win vaults the Fish over Oly Town and back into second place with a 3-1-1 record and 10 standings points. The Artesians are now 3-3-0 with 9 points. Snohomish County has a match in hand and a 1 point lead. The top two finishers will play in the NWPLi final. Tacoma Galaxy are currently in first place.
Next Up: Home versus Whatcom Waves
The Steelheads will host the Whatcom Waves on Saturday April 2 at 7 PM in the Snohomish Sports Dome in the team’s final regular season home match. Then it’s on the road to play at Oly Town on April 9 and at Tacoma Galaxy on April 16.
Watch a full match replay below!
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