Kitsap Pumas faced Seattle Pacific University's Falcons in a pre-season spring match in Port Orchard on Saturday afternoon.
PORT ORCHARD – (AP) The Kitsap Pumas needed a boost and they got one from forward William Njamen, as he scored the game-winning goal to put the Pumas over the Seattle Pacific University Falcons 2-1 Saturday at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard.
Njamen, a 20-year-old from Yaoundé, Cameroon, came off the bench late in the second half. In the 90th minute, he corralled a pass, got past a Falcon defender and headed the ball high over the head of goalkeeper Hunter Huffman.
Njamen punctuated the goal with a backflip in celebration as the entire team raced over to mob him. “William's such an enigmatic character on our team,” head coach John Wedge said. “The whole team loves him and it's so good to see him score a goal.”
The dramatic score capped a rough and physical game. Several players were taken off the field for injuries and the referee handed out five yellow cards for the game. But midfielder Tony Kerr said the team needed a game like this. “Some of us were talking about how we needed to be more physical and we were,” he said. “They were really up for it. They were coming in here to win and we needed to show we could battle and score when the pressure was on.”
Kerr scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 15th minute.
Seattle Pacific tied the game just before halftime when Elliot Morton scored off a free kick.
The match was held as a fundraiser for the South Kitsap Youth Soccer Club. All of the gate proceeds collected go toward the club's player development initiatives.
The Pumas hold another closed door scrimmage Monday before heading to Spokane to play the Spiders Saturday in the club's first-ever regular-season match.
The Pumas first home game is May 15th against the Tacoma Tide at Bremerton Memorial Stadium.
More match coverage: Kitsap Sun
Even more match photos: GOALKitsap.com
Comments
Thanks for the local coverage. Sounds like a great game. I don't think it was advertised as well as it could have been. Nothing in the local paper, the SK soccer club was late getting the information up on their website. I think the event could have been better supported by club members. Baby steps. Great coverage.
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