After all morning matches at the NWAC Soccer Friendlies in Tukwila were cancelled on Thursday due to poor air quality, the Trojans men's and women's soccer teams finally got the opportunity to kick off their seasons on Friday.
Women's Recap
The women opened the 2018 campaign against Yakima Valley College out of the East Region. The Yaks were comming off of a 7-5-4 season, their first winng season since 2011, and just one position away in the East Region Standings from qualifying for post season play.
The Trojans, starting 10 freshman began the game extremly poised and played sound defense for the first 20 minutes. A mistake in the back line at the 25th minute resulted in a PK for the Yaks in which they converted to take a 1-0 lead. Yakima would find the back of the net again just before half to secure a 2-0 lead.
The Trojans were never able to muster much of an offensive attack, but held defensively until the 80th minute when YVC would convert on another opportunity to put the game away 3-0. Despite the loss, there is plenty of optimism from coach Rafael Marins who was please with the overall play of his freshman in particular a solid defensive effort from Payton Nolte and goalkeeper Emma Allison who recorded 5 saves and deflected or collected several cross attempts.
Men's Recap
The men openend the season against a tough Walla Walla program, a team that won the East Region last season going a perfect 14-0 in region play and finishing with a trip to the Semi-Finals and an 18-1-1 overall record.
The defending east region champs from Walla Walla started off fast, catching the Trojans a bit unsettled and scoring a goal within the first 4 minutes of the match. Another lapse defensively just two minutes later led to a second goal by the Warriors. But the Trojans showed grit and did not back down. They found their rhythem and eventually began pressuring Walla Walla. Despite 8 first half shots on goal for the Trojans, none of them found the back of the net, and Walla Walla took a 2-0 lead into the half.
The 2nd half possesion was dominated by the Trojans but unfortunately they could not get a ball past the keeper. Ten shots were on goal by EvCC in the 2nd half, three from freshman forward Marcos Arellano from Monroe, WA. The Walla Walla keeper went on to record a total of 12 saves for the game and the Warriors survived 2-0. Freshman Goalkeeper for the Trojans Gabriel Acosta from Canyon Springs HS in Las Vegas, NV recorded 4 saves on 6 shots on goal.