Payback on the Hill
Midlakes United 2, West Seattle Junction FC 1
Five days after a 3-0 loss in West Seattle, Midlakes hosted Junction at Bellevue College looking for redemption. They got it, along with their first Lake Washington Derby win in club history.
The visitors struck first. In the second minute, midfielder Dan McKay turned over a difficult pass under pressure, and forward Matt Ludlow fed the loose ball to Keegan Chapko in open space. Chapko buried a shot to the keeper’s left from about 25 yards out for a 1-0 Junction lead.
Midlakes pressed for most of the opening half hour, and held the possession advantage, but could not find the finishing touch. Lucas McAllister was particularly impressive, consistently winning battles in the midfield, frustrating Junction attacks, and moving the ball well into the final third for Midlakes.
The breakthrough came in the 37th minute. Farhan Moustafa whipped a cross from the left wing that struck the outstretched arm of Junction defender Ryder Bishop, and the referee pointed to the spot. Trey Mitchell stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way, scoring his fifth goal this season and leveling the match.
Four minutes later, Midlakes turned the game on its head. The Junction keeper punched a corner clear, but Reise Corpuz redelivered into the crowded box, and Midlakes pounced. James Lear’s shot was blocked, Tommaso Casadei’s was saved, but defender Arjun Venkat fired in the rebound to make it 2-1.
The second half was more tense, with four different yellow cards issued to Midlakes. Unfortunately, two went to midfielder Sebastian Rangel, and the ref sent him off in the 76th minute. With more than five minutes of stoppage time, Midlakes had almost 20 minutes to defend down a man.
They held firm. Euan Moss came on to reinforce the left side of the back line, keeping Junction’s attackers pushed toward the periphery. Venkat was constantly in Junction’s way, capping 90 minutes of disciplined, physical defending; he took the Player of the Match award. In goal, Will Ficek repeatedly snuffed out danger on and off the line. He had eight saves total and interfered with several crosses that were too close to goal.
When the whistle blew, Midlakes had their first win ever in the Lake Washington Derby. The previous five meetings between the clubs all ended in a draw or a Junction victory. The result also kept Midlakes undefeated at home in regular-season play.
Next up is a trip to Olympia for the rematch against the side Midlakes beat 3-0 to open the season.
photos by Sandra Agbotse and Ruben Becerril-Geiger
