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STADIUM EDGES WILSON 1-0 IN BATTLE OF TACOMA SOCCER ELITE By Justin Gimse
jgimse@tacomaweekly.com
A cold, windy evening ushered in the spring soccer season at Stadium bowl Monday March 17 and the action on the field already looked like it was playoff time. In a crosstown battle of state powerhouses, 4A Stadium capitalized on an early second-half ricochet to edge 3A Wilson 1-0 in the nonleague contest. Seven minutes into the second half Stadium team captain senior Tyler Swenddal got a toe on the ball from 12 yards out. The shot looked to be wide but careened off of freshman defender Nick Rhode’s leg. Freshman goalkeeper Alek Greenleaf made a diving attempt at the ball but was unable to recover from the surprise bounce. Wilson had several opportunities at the Tigers goal but each shot or header seemed to go just wide. The Rams had eight corner-kicks to Stadiums three and spent the majority of the game on the offensive. It wasn’t good enough for an
equalizer goal though. “It was a very competitive game. I don’t think we played as good as we should, but I’m sure they’re [Stadium] thinking the same way,� said Wilson coach Adam Becker. “I think this will get us ready for our league play, that’s why we’re playing Stadium and Bellarmine early in the preseason to play a couple of good 4A teams to get us ready for our season.� Wilson played several freshmen as a handful of players left the pitch after getting bangedup in the hard-hitting game. Junior Pedro Ramos left the game early in the first half with a left leg injury and freshman Pablo Ramos stepped up for the Rams. “Pablo Ramos, my centermid freshman played really well for his first game at this level,� said coach Becker. “He controlled the midfield. I thought he was really relaxed around the ball and did pretty much everything we needed him to do. Our keeper Alek [Greenleaf] played very well for a freshman as well.�
PHOTOS BY ROCKY ROSS
DRIVING HARD. (Left) Impressive freshman Pablo Ramos made his debut for the Wilson Rams. (Right) Stadium’s Gabriel Casillo’s aggressive play helped put the Tigers over the top.
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