Steelheads battle Seattle to a 1-1 draw

SMOKEY POINT, WA— The Snohomish County FC Steelheads drew 1-1 with Nido Aguila Seattle on a sunny Fathers Day June 16 at Lakewood High School in Smokey Point. While the draw kept both clubs unbeaten in Western Washington Premier League play, it also made the paths of either side winning the league more challenging.

Match Photos: by Glen Moffitt

The biggest crowd of the season saw a tight, well-played and sometimes chippy match between the two clubs. The Steelheads had numerous first-half chances and then converted on one in the 25th minute. After a ball over the top to him Andrew Escalante delivered a bending cross, and Devin Shull broke through for a one-on-one against Seattle goalkeeper Nate Salveson. Shull’s initial shot hit his foot about the same time as Salveson tried to grab it. There was a brief rebound and Shull stayed the course to direct the ball on a bounce into the Seattle goal.

Match Report: North County Outlook

Shull goal sequence by Glen Moffitt

Luke Brezak was in goal for SnoCo FC, shutting out Nido on the defensive side in the first half with help from bis back line. At the other end the Steelheads could have made it 2-0 before the half when several players had shots in a goalmouth scramble. Salveson came up big and the last shot in a series of shots fell to Victor Villasenor but his effort went wide. It was 1-0 Snohomish at the break.

Seattle came out on a mission in the second half and pressured right away. It only took four minutes for them to get even. Second-half Steelheads goalkeeper Dorian Lair saw a powerful shot from Jesus Meraz find the upper right corner in the 49th minute and it was 1-1.

Getting all three points from this match was important to both sides. Seattle had the better chances the rest of the way but Lair directed his defense well and made several leaping grabs on crosses to keep SnoCo FC level.

The Steelheads are now 3-0-3 (W-L-D) with 12 points in WWPL play and 4-1-5 overall for the season. Nido Aguila are 4-0-3 in league with 15 points. The Fish are now off until July 6 when they will travel to Gig Harbor to Face Harbor Force.

(Cover photo: John Troka by Glen Moffitt.)