SMOKEY POINT, WA— The visiting Issaquah Gunners came back twice in a wild second half to catch the Snohomish County Steelheads 2-2 on Saturday May 4 in a WWPL match at Lakewood High School. The Steelheads are now 1-0-1 in league play with 4 points and 2-0-3 overall.
Match Photos: by Glen Moffitt
After the match Head Coach Dagi Kesim and the team seemed to agree that these are the kinds of matches you need to win to be considered a contender. Dropping points at home the week after a big opening win at Tacoma Narrows was not the kind of follow-up the Fish were looking for.
It was a sunny day and great weather for soccer. The first half closed with the score level at 0-0 and minimal chances for either side. That changed in a second half that featured four goals and three yellow cards. Carlos Rodriguez calmly converted a give and go in the 52nd minute to put SnoCo FC up 1-0. The Fish were pushing for more and had chances but couldn’t extend their lead.
In the 73rd minute Issaquah’s Jeremy Maldonado unleashed a long shot that sailed past goalkeeper Gabe Acosta and into the right upper corner of the goal to level the match at 1-1.
Just a few minutes later the Steelheads regained the lead when Rio Alcorta converted a penalty kick in the 78th minute. Alex Villasenor was pulled down in the outer right corner of the box setting up the try. 2-1 home side.
Just 3 minutes later Issaquah got a chance to get even when they were awarded a penalty kick. Alexander Cunliffe beat Acosta to make the score 2-2.
There were a couple of efforts late on for both sides but the whistle blew with the scoreboard even. For Issaquah it was a sigh of relief at a road point. Last weekend the Gunners hit the pitch with a 8-0 loss at Nido Aguila Club America Seattle.
Chippy & Chirpy
The match got chippy with plenty of chatter and three of the four yellow cards in the second half. Booked for the Steelheads were Kyle Aure and Andrew Escalante. Carded for the Gunners were Gareth Vaughn (first half) and Caleb Cho.
First place tie
The Steelheads are tied for first place in the early going of the WWPL season on 4 points with Nido Aguila.
Around the WWPL
In other scores in the WWPL on Saturday, Tacoma Narrows got their first win with a 3-2 result at home over Federal Way FC. Nido Aguila came back down to earth with a 2-2 home draw against Lacey FC.
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