SMOKEY POINT, WA— A late flurry of goals lifted the Snohomish County FC Steelheads to a 4-1 win over the Grays Harbor Gulls on Saturday July 13 at Dick Cardinal Stadium in Smokey Point. The win finished off an unbeaten 2019 home season and also kept the Steelheads unbeaten in the Western Washington Premier League and alive for the championship.
INTERVIEWS: Go here to see what the Steelheads had to say after the match!
Off to Redmond
SnoCo FC will travel to Redmond High School on Thursday July 18 at 7 PM to face the top of the table club Crossfire (“XF”) Redmond. If the Steelheads can win that match they would go to the top of the table. Then only Nido Aguila Seattle could knock them out of that perch. Seattle plays at Federal Way on Sunday. Nido holds a better goal differential than Snohomish, which is a likely tiebreaker if both sides finish on 24 points.
PHOTOS: See Steelheads-Gulls shots from Glen Moffitt!
Gulls fight hard
The final score of 4-1 was not indicative of the overall match. Grays Harbor fought hard and it was even 1-1 going into the 77th minute. Carlos Rodriguez gave the Fish a 1-0 lead just before halftime on a header off of a save.
Grays Harbor drew level in the 63rd minute on a great long-range bomb from Connor Darras. His strike from around 30 yards out caught the SnoCo FC defense by surprise and Fish goalkeeper Dorian Lair couldn’t stop the upper left corner goal.
Final Push
The veterans on the pitch for the Steelheads became increasingly vocal as time ticked away. Lair was urging the club from the back. The Steelheads needed a goal to stay alive in the WWPL race. In the 77th minute it was Carlos Rodriguez drawing a penalty kick call. Rio Alcorta converted for a 2-1 SnoCo FC advantage.
Match Report: North County Outlook
There was a sense of relief for the Steelheads. Then that turned into outright joy when Devin Shull took matters into his own hands and glided through the Gulls defense in the 80th minute. The hustle and cross ended up in a 3-1 Steelheads lead when Jacen Stein finished the play.
The result seemed secure and the Steelheads were about to complete a 3-win 3-draw unbeaten home season at Lakewood High School. Shull and Stein were not done yet though, and in the 92nd minute (added time) they got a fourth for the fish.
Hot in July
Credit to Head Coach Dagi Kesim and the Steelheads players must be given high praise for how they have played in July. Three wins, 17 goals for and only 1 against. After the 3-week break in June the club are finishing strong. The Steelheads are now 7-5-1 on the season (wins – draws – losses) and have an unbeaten league season and a chance at a title to play for in match 14, the club’s final game of the season.
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