Bellevue, WA – June 26 – Sy Hoekstra
A Friendly Triumph and a Dramatic Draw
Midlakes United 4, Seattle Celtic 1
Last Wednesday’s mid-season friendly was a chance for a lot of faces not ordinarily in Midlakes’ starting lineup to get in a lot of minutes. And they easily outmatched their opponent, the Cascadia Premier League’s Seattle Celtic. Though perhaps we should note that Celtic was missing two of its usual players, Felix Vu and Sybren Russell, because they were busy coaching Midlakes.
The Midlakes midfield featured a couple especially notable performances. Diego Zaldivar from Academy of Art University demonstrated some exceptionally accurate passing through the middle channels and in the 14th minute, sent a beautiful assist to UC Irvine midfielder Braden Ferreira for Midlakes’ first goal. Substituting in later in the game, Eastern Mexico University’s midfielder Hayato Morimoto was a key part of both the defense and offense, winning possession with several well-placed tackles and showing off some speed moving the ball back into the final third. Morimoto also scored Midlakes’ third goal just before the half.
Rounding out Midlakes’ scoring were Dayton University striker James Lear with a goal off a rebound in the 32nd minute, and UC Berkeley-commit striker Finn Reynolds tapping in a cross from Whitman College winger Lucas McAllister. Celtic’s only goal came just before the whistle at the end of the first half, so the match was never close.
It was the first meeting of these two clubs. Midlakes’ energy was not particularly high, but a handful of dynamic plays were more than enough to secure the victory.
FC Olympia 1, Midlakes United 1
Once again, a match with Midlakes and FC Olympia ended in nerve-racking fashion. But this time, it was not the thrilling Midlakes victory of a few weeks ago. Instead, Midlakes snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat.
The first half was a disappointment for both sides. The teams played with energy and drive, but had nothing to show for it when the whistle blew. Olympia came out swinging during the second half, scoring within the first couple minutes.
About 20 minutes later, Midlakes had a golden opportunity to equalize. Midfielder Eiji Hata sent a cross into the box toward striker and team captain Francisco Magaña. An Olympia defender put two hands on Magaña’s back and shoved, earning Midlakes a penalty kick. But midfielder Jason Buezo’s shot hit the crossbar, and the chance was gone.
Midlakes had several more successful trips into Olympia territory by the end of the game, but none resulted in a goal until the 89th minute. Buezo, looking for redemption, skillfully dribbled in on an attack and created chaos in the box, and Jack-Ryan Jeremiah was able to take advantage to fire a leveler into the back of the net.
There was, again, some fantastic work in the midfield for Midlakes. Patrick Cayelli did an excellent defensive job. And Hata received the Man of the Match award for his own defensive flare, smart playmaking, and crucial role in the drive that ended in Jeremiah’s goal.
But it can’t escape fans’ attention that this match was the third consecutive league game that ended in a draw. The division table and Midlakes’ playoff chances would look very different if the three points from those games were nine. As it stands, Midlakes will have to leapfrog 4 teams and make up a seven-point deficit to earn a playoff spot. With five games left (and 15 points on the table), Midlakes will need a thrilling end of season ride to make this happen.
