Pumas Pride grows in the 3-6-0 even after Cup setback

The 3-6-0 area code is beginning to warm up to these Kitsap Pumas.

It was clear during last night's 3-0 loss to the Portland Timbers in the United States Open Cup that Kitsap could be about to have a special bond with its boys in the white and blue striped jerseys. 2,128 fans showed up for a brilliant evening of soccer.

Also taking in the local soccer vibe were Sounders FC General Manager Adrian Hanauer, Head Coach Sigi Scmid, Technical Director Chris Henderson, Assistant Coach Brian Schmetzer and other Sounders FC staff.

Prost Amerika Soccer: Late goals disguise closeness of match

The Pumas held Portland to a 0-0 halftime score, but then gave up the winning goal on the opening drive from the second half-kick off. Two late goals made the final seem more of a rout than the match actually was.

Dustyn Brim kept the Pumas in the match with several dazzling saves.

It was a gorgeous night in Bremerton and the crowd was noisy and supportive of the Pumas. A backlog at the ticket booth saw the crowd arrive late, including the noisiest supporters of both the Pumas and the Portland Timbers. Both groups stood in the ticket line until well after kickoff. When they arrived in the ground the atmosphere rose and the Pumas fans took heart in cheering with the Kitsap 'ultras' and against the traveling group from Oregon.

I've lived in Kitsap County on and off since 1980 and I've never felt more pride in what we are here and what we can become. Never in my wildest dreams did I think a local West Sound club would play in a USOC match, let alone against one of the traditional Northwest pro clubs. It was awesome.

Tony Kerr moves the ball up for Kitsap as Portland supporters look on in the background.

The Pumas players showed well. They might have scored a few times, and Pumas goalkeeper Dustyn Brim surely stopped the Timbers from scoring a few other times. At the end of the night the Pumas were disappointed in the result, but the fans still gave their guys a rousing ovation.

After 8 matches in club history the Pumas have already established themselves as on target to be the 4th-best club in the region, behind only Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Timbers.

The 3-6-0 is proud.

Kitsap Sun coverage: Pumas closed out of open cup  Pumas show they're not lost in the Timbers

Seattle Times Live Blog from Jose Romero

Here's coverage from the Pumas:

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) – Kitsap Pumas goalkeeper Dustyn Brim said he felt they did as well as they could against a higher division opponent.

“The score doesn't really reflect how we played,” he said. “We were able to hang with them for 88 minutes. It was neck and neck.” But it was those final two minutes that led to the team's downfall as the Pumas lost to the USL Division I Portland Timbers 3-0 in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup first round match Tuesday night at Bremerton Memorial Stadium.

The loss is the first in team history and it's also the first time the Pumas have been held to no goals.
The club remains in first place in the Northwest Division of the USL PDL (5-0-2, 17 points) with an away match at Abbotsford B.C. this Saturday.

Pumas supporters light flares in the second half. Yes, the police  made them put them out.

Portland scored its first goal just seconds into the second half after  Keith Savage fed Brian Farber with a pass to his right just outside the box. There, Farber made a quick cutback to lose his defender and tap in a shot that beat Brim to the far post.

“He actually went across his body and doofed it a little bit,” Brim said. “He framed it to the left and I positioned my body (that way) but he went to the right. It was a good finish.”

The Timbers scored two goals late to put the game out of reach. Jason McLaughlin took advantage of the Pumas' decision to  push up, making a nice chip over Brim's head in the 89th minute.

David Hayes rounded out the scoring with a penalty kick in injury time after a handball was called on Jesse Wheelock in the box.

Kitsap had several chances to score but couldn't get the bounce they needed or simply had a call go against them at an inopportune moment.

In the first three minutes of the first half, Pumas defender Mark Lee put a free kick right on the button to Spencer Schomaker but his header sailed just high over the crossbar.

Kyle Johnson also put a ball right on the mark to Conrad, but Portland goalkeeper Steve Cronin barely knocked the ball away before Conrad could convert on it.

Johnson later put another corner in to Conrad but his header into the ground bounced high over the crossbar.

The South Kitsap High School Wolves were honored before the match. SK won the first Kitsap-area soccer state title this year with a win over previously undefeated 4A Pasco.

In the second half, the Pumas linked several great passes to Tony Kerr who scored - but was called offsides, by inches.

Kerr said he felt he wasn't offside and upon questioning received differing opinions.

“I've been told I was by one person and told I wasn't by another,” he said. “I waited and I waited and I felt like maybe the ball could have come a little bit earlier – but I waited as long as I could have. “If that had counted, I thought we would go on to win, but it's all in buts and maybes.”

Spencer Schomaker, who fed Kerr, admitted he wasn't sure if he was offsides. “I didn't have a good view,” he said. “He said he had someone keeping him on... but I don't know. Either way, it was pretty close.”

Schomaker later had a one-on-one with Cronin, but he put his shot wide as Cronin tackled him. Despite protests from the crowd, Schomaker didn't feel like he was fouled. “He was coming out and I was trying to tap it past him, but
unfortunately it went wide,” he said.

Head coach John Wedge said he felt the team played great. “When you're playing a higher level team, they're going to be quicker onto loose balls,” he said. “I thought we started a little nervously, but our guys really played well and showed great effort and heart. You can't be disappointed with that.”

Brim agreed.

“I think we presented a lot more than they were expecting,” he said. “They were like, 'whoa,” and by hearing some of the talk at halftime when I was walking through, the (Portland) coach (Gavin Wilkinson) was pissed. “I think we definitely showed that we can knock the ball around with anybody.”

Pro soccer is catching on in Kitsap county.

Kerr said they'll have to put this game behind them with the remainder of league play now in their view. “We have to see this as a good experience,” he said. “We had a great crowd come out tonight. We have to just see this as an experience as many of us won't play games like that again.”

Official attendance was 2,128 - the biggest crowd in the Pumas' brief history.

Kitsap makes its first trek to Canada this Saturday to play Abbotsford.

They return home June 19th to host Victoria. Game time is at 7 p.m., with tickets still available through Brown Paper Tickets and the Pumas front office.