The Evergreen Premier League debut in the Tri-Cities will go down as a thriller, but the back-and-forth affair saw visiting Spokane Shadow U23 strike for the final goal in a 4-3 win that avenged the season-opening loss in Spokane. Meanwhile, central Washington rivals Yakima United and NCW Alliance squared off in a thriller that saw the Hoppers prevail 3-2 in Wenatchee.
Evergreen Premier League
Jake Levine played a big role in the contest with the first and last goals of the game. His former Central Valley high school teammate Devin Hauenstein beat a defender with a fantastic move and fed Levine in the box for the shot from the right side 10 minutes in.
The Alliance, though, answered with an equalizer eight minutes later with a Ricky Chicas shot that deflected into the goal and then took the lead in the 28th on a strike from Mario Guizar. JD Hauenstein created the Shadow equalizer in the 32nd when he was fouled on the end line in the left side of the box, resulting in a penalty converted by Rene Caro.
Caro came up big again in the 55th minute after a foul. Caro launched a free kick that smacked off the underside of the crossbar and down into the goal. Replays are inconclusive if the ball crossed the line and referees did not signal a goal, but Cade Roske charged in and nodded the rebound into the back of the net to leave no doubt on the play.
A nicely taken free kick from Lenin Guzman that slipped in between the bar and the keeper's hand tied things back up in the 67th, but then Brayden Sullivan created the winner with five minutes remaining. The Gonzaga player headed the ball to himself over a defender and drove into the box, delivering a ball with the outside of his left to Levine as he dashed up the center of the box. Levine beat the charging keeper to the ball to one-time it home for the win. [SWX Highlights (35 mins)]
Spokane Shadow 4-3 Tri-Cities Alliance
SPO: Jake Levine (Devin Hauenstein) 10
TC: Ricky Chicas 18
TC: Mario Guizar 28
SPO: Rene Caro (pen) 32
SPO: Cade Roske 55
TC: Lenin Guzman 67
SPO: Jake Levine (Brayden Sullivan) 85
Elsewhere in the Columbia Division: On the road in Olympia, Yakima United was locked in a scoreless stalemate with the Oly Town Artesians when the hosts finally broke through in the 86th minute on a goal from Angel Trejo-Delgado. The Hoppers, though, quickly answered with a penalty converted by Alonso Rojas in the 87th.
Yakima United 1-1 Oly Town
OT: Angel Trejo-Delgado 86
YAK: Alonso Rojas (pen) 87
Current EPLWA - Columbia Division Standings
Tri-Cities Alliance 2-1-0… 6 points
Spokane Shadow 2-1-0… 6
Yakima United 0-2-1… 1
Northwest Premier League
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| Photo: Tracie Fowler |
Yakima United 3-2 NCW Alliance
NCW: Allison Flynn 13
YAK: Lauryn Peters 15
NCW: Allison Rader 35
YAK: Natalie Nagle 46
YAK: Natalie Nagle 81
National Premier Soccer League
The Spokane Shadow were on the road for a pair of games to kick off their NPSL season, earning draws in both contests against OSA, 4-4, and defending division champion Kitsap, 2-2.
Tanner Williams scored the opener and then set up Chase Reidt 10 minutes later to get things going early. Mike Ramos, who set up the first, then got on the board himself in the 45th minute for a three-goal advantage at the break. Reidt tallied his second in the 53rd, but subs to rest players for the second match may have softened the ground a bit along with an own goal that put the hosts on the board. OSA continued their rally with three unanswered for the draw.
In the second contest Kitsap grabbed the initial lead but Reidt scored his third of the weekend to even things up courtesy of former Puma Mike Ramos. Reidt returned the favor in the second half as Ramos put Spokane in front, but the hosts snatched a draw from the contest with a penalty six minutes from time.
Spokane Shadow 4-4 OSA FC
SPO: Tanner Williams (Mike Ramos) 11
SPO: Chase Reidt (Tanner Williams) 21
SPO: Mike Ramos (Karl Muelheims) 45
SPO: Chase Reidt (Jesse Retan) 53
OSA: Shadow Own Goal 55
OSA: Gabe Kellum 64
OSA: Gabe Kellum 74
OSA: Vittorio Sasso 86
Spokane Shadow 2-2 Kitsap Pumas
KIT: Uriel Herrera (Brian Charles) 34
SPO: Chase Reidt (Mike Ramos) 44
SPO: Mike Ramos (Chase Reidt) 64
KIT: Alvaro Rubio Barcena (pen) 84
About T4 Round-Up: The recap of 'Tier Four' action covers the sides in eastern and central Washington playing in the National Premier Soccer League, Evergreen Premier League (the fourth tier in US Soccer) and the women's equivalent Northwest Premier League.
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