Tacoma Press Release - www.tacomafc.com

Saturday, June 8, 2008

TACOMA, WA – The Tide have had a string of slightly weaker opponents over their last four matches at home, so when the undefeated Vancouver Whitecaps came to town Saturday night, it was going to be a real test. The grade they received after the exam; an A+. Tide fans that saw the match Saturday evening were treated to free hackey sacks, Zipp Fizz, Bertolinos Mugs, and the goal of the season.

The party began just seven minutes into the match when a ball was half cleared by Vancouver. The ball made its way to the edge of the penalty box where Chase Tangney met it with vigor. The right wing struck the ball on a clean volley with his left foot and from there it was magical. The volley bent passed the Whitecaps keeper into the upper corner of the net. Tangney did not stop running until his entire team caught up to him in a mass celebration. It was the type of goal you would like to see again and again from every angle possible.

Of course, the job was not done yet, so the Tide kept pushing.

An excellent defensive effort from Rory Agu rushed the Tide’s second goal just three minutes after the first. Agu dispossessed Vancouver center-back, Adam Straith and laid a ball over to Spencer Schomaker to make the score 2-0 in the first ten minutes. Rory Agu added to his strong points tally while Schomaker scored his 3rd goal of the season.

The two worked together again with Agu defending to cause another hectic play at the back and Schomaker pouncing for goal four on the season, and a shocking 3-0 advantage just 23 minutes into the match.

The Whitecaps almost pulled a goal back in injury time for the first half when Nick Webb lobbed a ball over goal keeper, Jordan Jennings, but the ball hit off the far post crossbar and back into Jennings’ arms. The luck was in favor of the Tide and Vancouver looked wide-eyed and dumbfounded by the score line headed into half time.

The Vancouver Whitecaps Residency side is meant for development of its players and that was evident Saturday night. Despite the difficult first half, the Whitecaps youngsters showed countless signs of skill and technique on the night.

The Whitecaps created a number of good chances, and with the three goal deficit, they pushed hard to begin the second half. Just moments after the break, the Whitecaps smacked a corner kick header off the cross bar and then had Jennings deny them a guilt edge chance.

Jennings was fantastic on the night to earn his 5th shutout of the season. The most emphatic save came at the midpoint of the second half. Jennings came out to meet Nick Webb on a one v one situation. Webb attempted to push the ball past Jennings but could not evade the quick pounce as the Seattle University product snatch the ball right off Webb’s foot. The man between the posts for the Tide collected four saves in total, each of them strong opportunities denied.

Jennings, Agu, and Schomaker all had fantastic matches for the Tide, but there was no question on the night as to who should receive Man of the Match honors. Chase Tangney solidified his grasp of the recognition in the 65th minute when he put icing on the cake with an upper ninety header. Once again, Agu was the supplier with a nice little chipped ball across the box and Tangney had the golden touch. The win puts the Tide in solid grasp of one of the top two spots in the division; needed for playoff qualification.

For fans that missed out on Saturday night’s match or those who just want to catch it again, it is available on Comcast On Demand for FREE. Anyone who has Comcast for their TV provider can watch the match as soon as Sunday night by 9pm. To check it out, turn your cable to Channel 1, then select Get Local, and then Local Sports, and you’ll see Tacoma Tide.

Next weekend the Tide travel to Utah to meet the Ogden Outlaws and then the BYU Cougars. Their next home match is June 20th.