Kitsap Escapes with 3 x 2 Victory Against The Red

In a thrilling encounter before a rabid crowd and under a shining sun, the Yakima Reds did themselves proud in a losing effort in Bremerton against the always physical Kitsap Pumas.

The Pumas took the match 3-2 but they had to battle far harder than most fans thought they would have against a team that had won half as many games as the Pumas had.

From the start, though, the Reds showed they weren’t in Bremerton to play Washington Generals to the Pumas’ Globetrotters. Forty seconds into it, Vini Oliveira unloaded a shot from the upper right corner of the box that barely missed the right upright of the goal defended by Kitsap’s Dustyn Brim.

Twelve minutes into it, John Fishbaugher ran down the right flank, caught the end line and delivered a cross shot that Jason Casio sank past the stretching Claudio Lazar. It was the 1-0, the first of many headaches down the wings for the Reds. The big question at that moment was how the Reds would respond to an early Puma goal.

The big answer was: pretty darn well. Less than ten minutes later, Kevin Eggen connected on a bounce off the right upright and defeated Brim, in a strike that left the rowdy Bremerton Memorial Stadium in a shocked silence.

The Reds held serve until the break and endured an atrocious performance by the referee who unloaded card after yellow card on the Reds and let the physical play of the Pumas go mostly unpunished.

Two minutes into the second half, another run down the flank, another cross shot and another crisp header, this time by Dan Scott returned the Pumas the lead.

For the next 20 minutes, it looked like the Pumas were going to widen the lead before the Reds could tie it, but a quick counter attack left Warlen Silva alone with Brim and the Brazilian delivered a low shot that the talented gatekeeper could not contain, it was the 2-2 and the only ones not surprised by the score were the fellows from Yakima.

The joy was short lived as four minutes later David Gray received another pass from the flanks, and connected with a half volley that kissed each post before going in.

“We’re leaving here with our heads held high,” Yakima head coach Alex Silva said. “Even though we lost, we played the best we have played all season.” I give credit to all our players for the great performance, special our goalkeeper Claudio, per sure one of the best keepers of the PDL. Claudio had 14 saves against Spokane and today it wasn’t different.

The Reds are in the midst of a late-season resurgence, having defeated Spokane twice in a row before the Kitsap match. Now they have three more matches, all at home, to close out the season.

“The goal is fifth place,” Silva said. “If we keep playing the way we did tonight, it’s very possible.”