SMOKEY POINT, WA— Both sides had their chances but in the end the Snohomish County FC Steelheads and TriCities Alliance FC had to settle for a 0-0 draw on Saturday April 13 at a cold, blustery and (eventually) rainy Dick Cardinal Stadium.
Photos: A Match Gallery by Glen Moffitt
Snohomish Head Coach Daghan “Dagi” Kesim saw plenty of positives in the match. “I was very happy with how organized we looked,” he said. “I’m very happy with our team defense and team shape. We had many chances. We will focus on finishing those chances in practice—as we have been in the last month. I am proud of my team’s performance against a solid, experienced TriCities team.”
The visiting Lions started brighter and controlled the first 20 minutes of the match. Not much was directed on goal but the Lions maintained possession. Snohomish broke through occasionally but didn’t find their pace until around the 30th minute. Then the Fish had a few chances off of long throws from Cade Cooke and sideline work from Carlos Rodriguez and Kyle Aure.
The second half was pretty-much all Steelheads. A continual onslaught on the Lions goal required multiple punch-outs and clearances. TriCities had a moment when the rain began dumping where a long shot from the Lions sailed high. With about 15 minutes left Steelheads midfielder Devin Shull found himself on the right of a 2-on-1 breakaway. Forward Andrew Escalante waited on the left. Shull elected to shoot rather than pass and his effort sailed high over the crossbar.
In the closing moments Escalante nearly converted a backheel flip off of a cross from Cooke. The ball teasingly floated over the goalkeeper and landed on the top netting. Later Agustin Domingo was free in the box but the slippery surface made a winning shot difficult and he slipped to the ground as a try went wide. The Steelheads weren’t done yet though, as Escalante was again in front of the goal but directed a diving header just wide before the final whistle.
Snohomish are now 0-0-2 (W-L-D) on the season with one more friendly to play on Saturday April 20 at 5 PM up in Mount Vernon against Skagit Valley Community College. The Fish begin their first WWPL season away on April 27 at Tacoma Narrows FC at 4:15 PM at Wilson High School Field.
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