Tacoma Tide Press Release - www.TacomaTideSports.com
Friday, June 26
TACOMA, WA - The Tacoma Tide that performed on the Curtis HS pitch Friday night resembled the Tacoma Tide of old. After two straight seasons without a loss on their home turf, the Tide held an aura of invincibility. Earlier this season, that feeling was dashed by the Portland Timbers U-23. After a tough patch of PDL games, the Tide took a big step in regaining that confidence on their home turf with a decisive three goal victory over their old rivals.
The Tide have had some sluggish starts to PDL games this season; the start to this game was not one of those poor starts. In just the third minute of play, Rory Agu created a nice opportunity with his effort defensively and Colin Rigby was able to finish the chance his strike partner developed.
The Tide led 1-0 before Yakima warmed up their legs in the Tacoma sunshine. Both teams opened up the field to create chances in the first half, but while Yakima didn’t finish their scoring chances, the Tide pressure earned an own goal in the 37th minute. Off a short corner, Leighton O’Brien touched the ball to Rory Agu at the corner of the penalty box. The strong forward put in a low cross that was redirected toward the Yakima goal by Colin Rigby. The forward who has been playing in Germany, knocked the ball into the back of the net. While the Tide forward didn’t celebrate, he and his teammates had earned the two goal advantage.
The second half was a fairly tame 45 minutes in comparison to the Tacoma-Yakima rivalry matches of the past. Vini Oliviera and Jr. Garcia looked dangerous, but the Tide defense, which has been shaky this season, held strong. Jordan Jennings commanded his box well and it was the Yakima defense that faltered first. Subbing into the match in the 71st minute of the match, Wesley Vanhooser was immediately impactful. The Seattle University attacker received a long throw in and put a one touch shot off the hands of Reds goal keeper, Robert McCurdy and right to Zac Crim. Crim punched the ball into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead and his first goal of the season.
The lone downer for the Tide Friday night came on a long ball played up to Jr. Garcia. The reigning PDL Player of the Year had too much pace for Tim Grey and as the two players made their way into the penalty area, they collided. It marked the second game in succession that the Tide gave up a penalty kick. It also yielded a red card for the Tide center back. Oliviera struck the ball well into the side netting for a 3-1 score. The game was never in doubt, and icing on the cake came moments later as the Tide scored from an O’Brien cross to Zac Crim for his second goal of the game.
The win is the first for the Tide since May 30. It keeps them within a sniff of the PDL playoffs. The next time out for the Tide is Sunday afternoon for a 3pm match against the Spokane Spiders. For tickets, see TacomaTideSports.com. Tickets start at $5 for students and $10 for adults. If you’d like to watch this Tide win, YOU CAN! To watch, go to Comcast On Demand and select Get Local, then Local Sports, and finally Tacoma Tide.
