Kitsap Pumas hold off Victoria 2-1 to extend Northwest Division lead

Second-half goals by Eli Gordley and Alex Megson pushed the Kitsap Pumas past the Victoria Highlanders 2-1 tonight in Bremerton.

The Pumas remain undefeated in league play with 7 wins and 2 draws, and top the PDL Northwest Division with 23 points.

The match was a card-filled affair under the misdirection of lead official Tony Venraugral, who dished out seven yellow cards and a needless red card to Kitsap's Max Lipset in the 77th minute. The Pumas' central defender must now miss Sunday's match against Vancouver.

Kitsap took a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute when Stephen Phillips teamed up with Eli Gordley. Phillips made the moves on the right side to clear the defense and Gordley calmly slotted the ball home from the center of the penalty box.

The Pumas plunked the goal post twice before getting their second goal.

It was 2-0 Pumas in the 68th minute after fresh legs in the form of second-half sub Alex Megson paid off with a high rocket into the net off of a defelcted throw-in from Kitsap defender Mark Lee.

Paul Vandenboomen's header in the 84th minute brought Victoria back into the match. Playing with a man advantage after Lipset's 77th minute ejection, the Highlanders pressed the Pumas for the equalizer before the final whistle signaled another Pumas' win.

Kitsap will host the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency this coming Sunday at 1:00 PM at Bremerton's Memorial Stadium.

See a slide show of match photos below, and all of Jenni's Kitsap-Victoria match photos at GOALKitsap.com.

Kitsap Sun: New Blood Lifts Pumas Past Highlanders

Eli Gordley slots home Kitsap's first goal in the 51st minute.

Pumas Match Press Release:

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) – After a first half in which the Kitsap Pumas failed to capitalize on several scoring chances, head coach John Wedge turned to the bench – more notably Alex Megson – to try and get something going. “Meggy has been playing well in practice,” he said. “I knew I was going to give him some significant time tonight and just freshen things up and give it a different look.”

The move for the man dubbed “The Professor” paid off, as Megson scored the eventual game winner as the Pumas defeated the Victoria Highlanders 2-1 Friday night at Bremerton Memorial HS Stadium. It's the first ever meeting between the two first year clubs. The win keeps Kitsap (7-0-2, 23 league points) unbeaten in league play and keeps them in first place ahead of the Seattle Wolves and the Portland Timbers U23.

Megson's goal came in the 68th minute. Defender Mark Lee's throw in went off the head of a Kitsap player, then a Victoria defender as he attempted to clear it out. Megson took advantage as he snuck in the backdoor unmarked and put it past Highlander goalkeeper Daniel Kilpatrick for his first goal of the season. “My guy turned the wrong way so I went to the blind spot and went behind him,” Megson said. “It was a one-time finish; I shot high because the keeper went low.”

Pumas forward Eli Gordley added in his first goal of the season in the 51st minute. Stephen Phillips, again starting in the central midfield, was near the goal box when he put a great fake on his defender near the end line then cut a perfect pass back to Gordley, who buried his eight-yarder into left corner of the goal past a frozen Kilpatrick. “I'm so happy for him,” Wedge said of Gordley. “He's been so patient” (waiting to get into the starting lineup.) “He's earned his way onto the team.”

Putting in another strong performance was Pumas defender Taylor Hyde, who marked Victoria's leading shot taker Steve Scott and kept the big 6-foot-3-inch  forward from being much of a threat. “Taylor controls the back so well,” goalkeeper Dustyn Brim said. “Aside from the physical presence, his mental approach to the game is fantastic. He reads the game so well.”

The two goals came at a welcome time, as a frustrating first half saw Kitsap unable to convert several big chances to score.
The biggest came off a Pumas free kick early in the game after Kitsap winger  Mark Conrad fed Stephen Mohn the ball into a wide open lane toward the goal - but couldn't get on the ball in time as the pass was barely off.  Kitsap later took a quick free kick into Kyle Johnson racing toward the goal. Highlanders goalkeeper Daniel Kilpatrick raced out to grab the ball as both collided with each other, but Johnson was awarded a yellow card. Kilpatrick also made a fantastic save later on in the half. Johnson put a cross pass right on the money to Spencer Schomaker who had a shot on goal, but Kilpatrick got his hands up in time to deflect the ball away and eventually grabbed it before it could be put in. Mark Conrad also had a breakway shot, but a Victoria defender cleared it away just in the nick of time.

“I thought we started playing their game,” Wedge said of his team's first half play. “We started out well when we knocked the ball around on the ground – that's our game. But then we got into this long ball stuff that they like to play. So I said to them at halftime 'Let's put the ball on the deck and play our game."

The ebb and flow continued into the second half, as Phillips unleashed a shot that skimmed off the far post. Despite holding a 2-0 lead and seeminginly in control of the run of play, those missed opportunities nearly put Kitsap in a precarious spot, as Max Lipset was awarded a red card and ejected in the 77th minute after what the referee deemed a late tackle on Highlander defender Tynan Diaz. It's the first time a Pumas player has been ejected from a game since Leon Abravanel was sent off in the season opener at Spokane on May 2. “I felt it was a yellow card but if you're not going to send someone off for a two-footed tackle (that a Victoria player was carded for) at the end then, it's not a red card,” Brim said. “I felt the ref was way too quick to be pulling out his pocketbook.”

The Highlanders took advantage and got one in the net when Paul Vandenboomen headed in a ball at the 83rd minute. It's just the fourth goal given up by Brim all season.

Victoria got no closer as Kitsap bled the remaining minutes of the match - despite the physical play continuing to ratchet up. Players were separated after words were exchanged after the aforementioned tackle by a Highlander defender at the 90th minute.

Lipset will not be available due to the red card, but Wedge said they'll look at several players, most notably Will Sturgess, to start at fullback alongside Mohn. Brim expects Sturgess will get the call, but said anyone they put in off the bench can do the job well. “Max is a huge part, but I'm comfortable with anybody they bring in,” he said.

The Pumas continue its homestand versus Vancouver tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Tickets are still available at the front gate.Youth players wearing their club jersey will be admitted for only $2.

Pumas players pile on Gordley as they celebrate the goal.