Topsy-turvy weekend in PDL sees Seattle Wolves jump to second

July 5, 10:42 PMSeattle Soccer ExaminerDavid Falk

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On Friday night when the Seattle Wolves failed to beat Victoria in Seattle (a 3:3 draw) the club's hopes for a Northwest division playoff spot dimmed. Now after a 1-0 win in Victoria Sunday things are looking much better for the Seattle PDL side.

It helped the Wolves that all other results over the weekend also went their way. First-place Kitsap drew 1:1 at Portland to limit the Timbers U-23's to a single point. Meanwhile the Cascade Surge drew 1:1 at Abbotsford but lost 2:0 at Vancouver. The end result is that the Wolves have moved up to second place.

See a Wolves match report below. Here is coverage of the match from Victoria Times Colonist.

The Kitsap Pumas are back in Bremerton after their 1:1 draw with the Timbers U-23's. We've got photos of the match from Jenni Conner, who traveled to support the boys in hoops. See the Pumas club match report below as well.

July 5, 2009 by Alex Caulfield, Seattle Wolves

(VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA) – Players and staff members of the Seattle Wolves Football Club boarded three sea planes at south Lake Union’s Kenmore Dock on Sunday morning to make the short jaunt over the waters of Puget Sound to Victoria, Canada.

With only three matches remaining in their inaugural Premier Development League campaign, Seattle (8-3-3) needed at least a share of the points from Sunday’s contest against the Victoria Highlanders Football Club (3-6-4) to remain in the race for the national playoffs.

The two sides drew 3-3 on July 3rd in a compelling affair at Starfire stadium, as Seattle wingers Alex Klein and Ely Allen helped the Wolves to overcome a 2-0 deficit on home soil.

The second encounter proved to be just as enthralling, as Seattle defeated a spirited Highlanders side 1-0 in front of a crowd of 1,800 spectators at City Centre Stadium.

Seattle bossed the midfield during the first half, dictating possession through Allen in a newly adapted central midfield role.

Allen weaved in between the Victoria centerbacks in the 22nd minute, driving a powerful show toward the base of Jose Herrera’s goalmouth.

Herrera parried the shot to safety, and Victoria responded four minutes later when striker Patrick Gawrys maneuvered into the Seattle area, forcing a strong save from Wolves goalkeeper John Moore.

Seattle fullback Brandon Zimmerman unleashed a formidable shot from the top of Victoria’s 18-yard box, and the home crowd gasped as the ball sailed just over Herrera’s crossbar.

However, the best opportunity of the half for either side came in the 45th minute when Highlanders midfielder Jordie Hughes pierced Seattle’s right flank and played a delicate through ball to Gawrys.

The striker pushed his attempt to the left of Moore’s near post, much to the Seattle keeper’s relief. At half time the two clubs went into the dressing rooms deadlocked at 0-0.

 At the restart Seattle began with a strong attempt on goal when striker Alex Chursky received quality service from winger Sean Morris. Although Chursky’s effort was snuffed out by Herrera, this exchange was the harbinger of open play through the half.

The Wolves benefitted from this fact when Allen used speed and finesse to dismantle Victoria’s backline yet again in the 63rd minute. The skillful midfielder rounded fullback Joey Loreth and slotted home the only goal of the match at Herrera’s far post.

The goal marked Allen’s second strike of the weekend against the Highlanders, as the former Pac-10 Player of the Year notched Seattle’s third and final goal in Friday’s encounter.

With their large home crowd silenced, Victoria tried relentlessly to capture an equalizing goal. In the 75th minute midfielder Joey Mathot propelled a dangerous shot off of Moore’s crossbar, and Seattle’s backline was able to clear the threat.

The Wolves nearly extended their lead in the 82nd minute when midfielder Evan Morgan played the ball across the Victoria area to Chursky. The veteran forward caught the ball on the volley, but Herrera was up to the challenge once again.

In the final stages of the match, Victoria pushed all of their outfield players forward in an attempt to salvage something from the match. Rory Devenish cut inside the Wolves’ defense from the right and powered a shot on goal, but John Moore stood firm to preserve the hard-earned lead.

When the final whistle sounded, Seattle stood triumphant and on firm ground to push for a playoff position heading into the last two matches of the season.

With 27 points in 2009, the Wolves are now second in the PDL Northwest Division, while the Highlanders are mathematically eliminated from post-season contention.

The top three teams in the division are eligible for the national playoffs, and Seattle is thoroughly entrenched in a battle to claim one of the two remaining spots. 

With first place Kitsap virtually assured the division crown, the Wolves are battling Portland and Cascade for postseason representation. The win over Victoria pushes Seattle over Portland into second place, as the Wolves now have 27 points, one point ahead of the Timbers U-23.

Meanwhile, fourth place Cascade is eager to increase their total of 23 points after losing 2-0 today to the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency. On July 11th Seattle will make the five-hour journey to Salem, Oregon, to play the Cascade Surge in the most important match of the season.

Should the Wolves claim a result in that contest, the club will strengthen its effort to claim a post-season berth in its first season in the United Soccer Leagues. The final match of this inaugural campaign will be played on July 17th at 7:00 PM against the Abbotsford Mariners at Starfire Stadium.

For tickets to this final regular-season contest, please visit www.seattlewolvesfc.com

Match report from the Kitsap Pumas

TUALATIN, Ore. (AP) – With the Cascade Surge and the Seattle Wolves settling for ties in their respective games Friday night, the door was wide open for the Kitsap Pumas to walk in and take its first ever division
title.

Instead, a controversial late goal and a near fight delayed any celebration for the first-year club.

Thus, the Pumas too, settled for a 1-1 tie of their own with the Portland Timbers U23 on a sweltering Saturday night at Tualatin High School in the Portland suburbs.

Kitsap (10-0-3, 33 league points) remain undefeated in league play and have already qualified for the playoffs thanks to the Cascade and Seattle draws on Friday night.

The Pumas also remain at the top of the entire PDL points race with a two-point lead over the Long Island Rough Riders.

But no one was in any sort of mood to celebrate afterward.
 

Stephen Phillips attacks against Portland.

The Timbers scored in injury time when they earned a free kick just outside of the Pumas penalty box. Defender Logan Emory put the ball into a veritable mosh pit in the box. Several players missed chances to clear or shoot before Ryan Youngblood headed it in - concurrent with nearly every Puma player in the area already pleading for a handball. But the call never  came.


“To tell you the truth, I never knew about it until it hit the net,” goalkeeper Dustyn Brim said. “I had so many bodies in front of me. All of a sudden I hear a thump and I see the splash and I thought, 'You've
gotta be kidding me.'”

"That was just luck," Timbers head coach Jim Rilatt said. "Eventually, you catch a break. You just keep pumping it in and hoping it gets to somebody -- a Hail Mary. This time it worked."

Pumas and Timbers get after each other in stoppage time.

Moments later, the Timbers got another free kick outside the Kitsap penalty box. Brim made the save falling down, but fumbled the ball. He quickly gobbled it up, but defender Daniel Leach tried to kick the ball out of
Brim's grasp. Instead he kicked Brim in the face.

After the burly 'keeper got in Leach's face Leach attempted to choke Brim. Both went backwards into the net as teammates and officials raced to the scene. Pushing and shoving ensued along with the inevitable exchange of choice words before the officials and coaches separated the players.

After a lengthy referees conference the center official booked Leach, defender Josh Brown and Kitsap defender Taylor Hyde for red cards.

As Brim was also shown yellow, the referees knew that they had barely averted an all-out melee.

A total of 37 fouls and nine cards were awarded for the match.

“We all should have kept our cool, but at the same time you can't let your keeper get attacked like that,” Hyde said.

Brim said he's glad to see his teammates stick up for each other, but also said he'll take the blame for Hyde getting ejected. “I wish he hadn't got sent off,” he said. “It's my fault for losing my cool... In the huddle (afterward) Coach (Wedge) laid into me and rightly so. He expects leadership from me and me losing my cool isn't part of the job.”

Rilatt felt Brim should have been sent off, but also felt the referee completely lost control.

"The referee didn't use his power throughout the game on incidents that he should have and that would have sent a message," he said. "If the referee had done his job earlier on, both sides with the fouls he called and the cards he puts out -- that's a no-brainer. You walk away and the goalkeeper doesn't get in a scrap.

"But when the referee doesn't do that (assert his authority) then people start, when they're tired, (begin) taking licenses and being stupid."

The Pumas were in a much better mood at the 30th minute.

Defender Kipp Erskine fouled Kyle Johnson just outside the penalty box, earning him a yellow card. Matt Friesen took the free kick and bent it perfectly past the wall and goalkeeper Austin Guererro to put it into the upper far-post corner of the net.

It was a near mirror image of the free kick Friesen netted the last time the sides met on June 3 at Kitsap - a 1-0 Pumas win (Friesen bent that free kick past the wall and Guererro into the upper left corner for the only score of that match.)

“I'm guessing they don't like me too much,” the Newburg, Ore. native said with a laugh. “I'd like to keep it that way.” But the Pumas couldn't get anything more, having to settle for the tie. Rilatt praised the Pumas afterward. "I thought Kitsap did a good job considering they had to travel for the Fourth of July," he said. "It's a real quality group of kids. They're a very solid team, a very organized team and a very competitive team -- let alone a talented team."

"The group (of Timbers starters) that went on the field decided they wanted to work hard and close down and defend and chase to show some of their ability," Rilatt continued. "I thought we wasted a lot of
chances that could have made the game a little more interesting."

They'll try to clinch the club's first-ever division title again this Saturday when they host Abbotsford in the last home game of the regular season.

“Now we get to be in front of our home fans,” assistant coach Andrew Chapman said. “It'll be more deserving for our fans – they've been so supportive over the season.”

Chapman also praised the noisy group of Pumas supporters that made the nearly four-hour trip South to cheer Kitsap on.

Saturday is also Fan Appreciation night. Several gifts from area businesses, team supporters and team sponsors will be raffled off throughout the course of the match.

Tickets are still available at the Pumas front office, through Brown Paper Tickets and the front gate. Call 360-377-6008 during business hours or visit www.kitsapsoccerclub.com for more information.

Jenni's match photo gallery from the Kitsap visit to Portland is now online here.