Tacoma shocks Seattle 14-11 in playoffs, then falls to Fire

Tacoma Stars players react with joy (top) after the whistle blows on their 14-11 victory over the Seattle Wolves on Saturday March 8th. Traveling Tacoma fans (bottom) form a tunnel for the Stars on their way to the showers.
Jenni Conner www.GOALTacoma.com photos.

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Tacoma's Stars waited until the playoffs to shine against Seattle, but when they did the glow was bright enough to blind the Wolves out of the playoffs.

The glow lasted only one night as Tacoma traveled to Wenatchee on March 9th and fell 19-9 to the Fire. Wenatchee will be the Northwest representative at the PASL Nationals next weekend and the Stars, who knocked out Seattle the night before, were themselves sent packing. The Wenatchee Fire knocked out the Snohomish Skyhawks 10-8 in Snohomish to gain their home match against the Stars.

The Stars bolted to a gigantic lead in their playoff semifinal match with the Seattle Wolves at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila on Saturday March 8th. It was 12-0 Tacoma at the end of a dominating first half.

Seattle rallied in a rough second half that saw numerous power plays and a red-card ejection on the Stars' Nate Ford. The Wolves used the advantage to outscore Tacoma 11-2 in the second half and draw to within 14-11 with under five minutes to go.



That was all the scoring either team would muster and when the final whistle blew the pro-Tacoma crowd launched into celebration and chanting, including ribbing the Wolves roster full of Sounders with the chorus "Where's your famous Sounders now." (Roger Levesque didn't play, Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda, Colin Rigby and Taylor Graham did.)

Stars fans formed a human tunnel in front of the visitors locker room and the winners smiled, hugged and gave hive-fives to families, friends and fans.

The Stars did not beat Seattle in the regular season, both times (a loss, a draw) losing large leads. Turns out the 12-0 (6 goals to 0) was just enough.

New crest for Tacoma Tide FC

While the official Tacoma Tide FC website has yet to incorporate their new crest, we can show it here now because the Tide have updated their MySpace page with the new logo.

The crest was designed by Tangney & Tangney of Gig Harbor, WA. We are pretty sure they are somehow related to Tacoma Tide striker Chase Tangney, also of Gig Harbor.

The look is growing on us, and we look forward to seeing it on the new TFC scarves, kits and (hopefully) shirts and hats for fans in 2008.

I-5 Insanity: Stars face Seattle in playoffs

Originally posted in the GOALSeattle.com forums by "seattlewolvesfc."

2008 PASL Northwest Divisional Playoffs Set
NW Semi-Final: Wolves host Tacoma Saturday March 8th, 7pm, Starfire Sports

This Saturday, March 8th, at 7:00pm, inside the Starfire Sports Complex the Seattle Wolves will face off against their divisional rival, the Tacoma Stars, in a Premier Arena Soccer League NW Semi-Final, the winner getting a bid into the Regional Finals.

The Wolves defeated the Wenatchee Fire this past Saturday to secure the PASL NW League Championship, and the #1 seed going into the Regional Playoffs.

Match Recap

The Wolves jumped out to an 8-0 lead over Wenatchee when Dayo Oyetuga, Matt Hulen, Kevin Sakuda and Zach Scott combined for 4 goals in the opening 7 minutes of Saturday's match. Wenatchee had no answer for the Wolves potent offensive attack, and physical defense.

The Fire brought the score to within 6 points midway through the 2nd period when Juan Barboza scored to make it 10-4 in favor of Seattle. But, that was as close as Wenatchee would come to tying the match.

The Wolves went on to score 7 unanswered goals, and held Wenatchee scoreless throughout the 3rd period. Jimmy Ward had 12 saves in goal for the Wolves, making his tally for the season 72, with a goal-per-game average of only 3.3, and an average of 9 saves per match. Ryan Oxford earned Man-of-the-Match honors by scoring three goals on Saturday, which tied him with Dayo Oyetuga for team lead with 9 each on the season. Oyetuga ended the night with two goals, and Wolves midfielder, Mike Morris, netted two of his own. Captain, Matt Hulen, led the Wolves squad in both assists and total offensive points this season, with 9 assists and 17 points.

The Wolves win over Wenatchee allowed them to regain 1st place, capturing the PASL NW division Regular Season crown and the #1 seed going into the PASL NW Regional Playoffs. Here is how the regular season standings ended:
1.Seattle Wolves FC, 21 pts
2.Snohomish Skyhawks, 19 pts
3.Wenatchee Fire, 17 pts
4.Tacoma Stars, 14 pts
5.PSSA Rapids, 13 pts
6.Central Oregon Steelheaders, 12 pts
7.B2B Bombers, 7 pts
8.Basin United, 0 pts

So, while the Wolves battle Tacoma in what is sure to be one of the best matches of the season on Saturday night, Snohomish will host Wenatchee in the other semi-final. The winner of both matches will meet on Sunday, March 9th at a time TBD for a chance to travel to the International Finals in Fredericksburg, VA March 14-15.

The Wolves went 1-0-1 this season in matches played against Tacoma, defeating them at home with come-back heroics, and battling from 6 points down in the 2nd half to tie the Stars in Tacoma. Tacoma is a traditional powerhouse in PASL Northwest action, and after a very physical match in Tacoma last month, this Semi-Final promises to be extremely exciting. Kick-off is at 7pm Saturday at the Starfire Sports Complex (14800 Starfire Way Tukwila, WA 98188 ). Admission is free. Donations to help support Seattle's Premier Semi-Professional Soccer Club are appreciated.

10 questions with Peter Hattrup

www.MLSinSeattle.com continues their interview series with 10 questions for Peter Hattrup.

"When I came back and played for the Sounders, with a lot of guys I’d known for years and we won, that was obviously one of the highlights. To play in your hometown with your friends as a professional athlete doesn’t happen often. One of the best group of guys to be around was that first year in Tampa, and I didn’t even get to play. When I went and finished in Milwaukee indoors, that was a great team. We won as well, but that team was real close on and off the field and it was a lot of fun."

Read bout Peter's 1995 MVP season with the Sounders in the GOALSeattle museum.

Tide scarf look finalized

Thanks to Jeff at www.RuffneckWear.com for sending us a preview of the finalized Tacoma Tide scarf design. I am looking forward to putting one of those babies around my neck for the home opener May 11th against Cascade of Salem, Oregon.

Tide season ticket holders get a free scarf this season. Check into it. There will be a limited supply of the traditional world football garments.

Stars make playoffs, await foe

The Tacoma Stars have made the playoffs, even with just a .500 record of 4-4-2.

Who will they play?

Seattle or Wenatchee on the road, March 8th.

Right now the streaking Snohomish Skyhawks lead the pack. However, it is still possible for Wenatchee or Seattle to pass them.

However, with a match still to play either Seattle or Wenatchee will pass Snohomish for first place. So the Stars will not face the Skyhawks in the first round.

Seattle and Wenatchee have a match with each other to get to their total of 10 league matches. It comes this Saturday March 1st at Starfire. On February 24th Seattle and Wenatchee played to a thrilling 18-18 draw.

Snohomish has 19 points, Seattle has 18, Wenatchee has 17. If the Wolves and Fire tie in their March 1st match then Seattle wins the division and hosts the Stars on March 8th. If the Wolves win they'll host Tacoma. If Wenatchee wins they'll host the Stars and Seattle will travel to Snohomish.

Snohomish, Seattle, Wenatchee and Tacoma are all in the playoffs. It's now a matter of finishing out to determine seeding.

"SoccerPalooza 2008" April 26 in Tacoma Dome

It's a big event for youth soccer in the state of Washington, and you can get a preview of the April 26 event at www.SoccerPalooza.net.

The Tacoma Dome will be full of the latest new soccer gear, information and other stuff that players and fans can't miss out on.

Many vendors are scheduled to be on hand.