An Unlucky Bounce Settles a Hard-Fought Night in Tacoma
Tacoma Stars 2, Midlakes United 1
Midlakes United traveled to Tacoma on Tuesday and came away on the wrong end of a 2-1 result. The boys in ice blue were undone by an unlucky bounce in a match they seemed to have taken control of.
The Stars struck first in the ninth minute. Adama Kante gathered the ball on the left after a quick attack left Harrison Shaw on the ground, appealing for a foul the Midlakes supporters clearly thought he deserved. Kante centered the ball for Harrison Emert, who opened the scoring. Tacoma had the early momentum, generating most of the first half’s dangerous chances by finding space on the right side, where Khai Brisco caused problems all evening.
The half’s defining moment came in the 30th minute when the referee awarded Tacoma a penalty kick. Emert stepped up to the spot looking for a brace. He aimed right, but Will Ficek timed his dive perfectly to push the shot out of frame, keeping the deficit at one.
Midlakes emerged from the break a different side. Lucas McAllister leveled the match in the 51st minute. Trey Mitchell carried the ball past the back line and forced a save from goalkeeper Alexander Hume. The rebound fell to McAllister, who finished. The equalizer was the high point of a spell in which Midlakes seized the run of play, winning challenges and forcing turnovers across the pitch.
The lone stumble came in the 75th minute, and Tacoma made it count. Habib Barry won the ball at midfield, played a give-and-go with Agai Majankeka, and slipped behind the defense. His shot took an awkward deflection off Ficek and into the net. Midlakes pushed for another equalizer, outshooting the Stars 7 to 4 after halftime, but could not find the finish.
Ficek earned Man of the Match. Beyond his first-half penalty stop, he aggressively thwarted several Tacoma attacks and won a number of one-on-one challenges to keep Midlakes within reach until the final whistle.
Traveling Midlakes supporters comfortably outnumbered the home crowd, and the Lakes Loyalty made themselves heard from the first whistle to the last. But the squad’s woes on the road continue. Midlakes finished its home matches this season at 4-2-1. But the away record thus far is 0-6. One road match remains against Bigfoot FC to secure an away victory.
photos by Ruben Becerril-Geiger
