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Intercollegiate AthleticsFor Sports EnthusiastsFor Student Athletes |
EVERGREEN STILL IN THE PLAYOFF RACE |
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October 19, 2002 by James J. Portune Evergreen State College Sports Information Director Mid-fielder Dave Pierce's twenty-five yard blast sparks Geoduck win. OLYMPIA, Wa - In essence it was two key plays back-to-back that reversed the three-game losing streak the Evergreen State Men's Soccer team were on and made their goal of post-season play more of a reality by defeating visiting Cascade 2-0. From twenty-five yards out, in the 52nd minute of the game, junior Dave Pierce (Olympia, Wa/Olympia H.S.) put the Geoducks (5-5 CCC, 8-8 Overall) ahead 1-0 on a monster blast, that rocketing through a mass of bodies congregated in front of Cascade's (3-7 CCC, 4-11 Overall) goal and was arrested only by the netting that is attached to the back of the goal frame. When asked whether Pierce's goal lifted the teams spirit, Jason Gjertsen (Tacoma, Wa/Wilson H.S.), who leads the team with ten goal this season, simple stated, "it is nice to have someone else score." On the subsequent kickoff Evergreen goalkeeper Tommy Kneeshaw (Eatonville, Wa/Eatonville H.S.) made yet another dramatic save, this one a mid-air diving snare, that preserved the Geoducks 1-0 lead and turned back Cascade's only serious shot-on-goal. Gjertsen, himself, would score nine minutes later on a twenty-five yard free kick that gave Evergreen a 2-0 lead that the Thunderbirds were unable to put a dent in. The shutout was Kneeshaw's third of the season. "I knew that the keeper would only see the ball at the last moment," Gjertsen explained. "All I had to do was place it between the goals." This game was big for both teams. "This game ment a lot to Cascade," said co-head coaches Andy Hill and Tom Boatright. "If they had won, they would have had the same record as us." A victory by Evergreen would knock Cascade out of the playoff picture and in all likelihood give them a strong hold on the final playoff spot since Northwest, another contender, was hosting conference leading Concordia. The win also proved to have psychological meaning for Evergreen, as it was the first victory since junior captain Chris Pugh (Lacey, Wa/North Thurston H.S.), #2 scorer, was sidelined with an injury on Oct 10th, a 3-2 loss at Western Baptist. Only two conference games remain on the schedule, prior to the start of the Cascade Conference post-season tournament Nov. 8-9. Evergreen will be in Kirkland, Wa., on Tuesday (Oct 22nd) for 7:00 p.m. rematch, at Juanita High School, against Northwest College. The Eagles won the first meeting 4-2 at Evergreen. Then on Friday, Oct 25, Albertson's will be in town looking to take back
a 2-1 loss that the Geoducks inflicted on September 22nd in Caldwell, Idaho. |
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