PORT ORCHARD, WA—Port Orchard Football Club kicked off its 2024 season with a 6-3 friendly win over Steel United before 602 fans at Kitsap Bank Stadium on Sunday May 19. POFC was behind three different times before pulling ahead and running away with it.
Steel United came to play with delivering an upset in mind. They recruited a couple of local Tacoma legends to bolster their CPL2 roster. Their physical play quick counter attacks had POFC under pressure. Halway through the first half the visitors took a 1-0 lead.
ACTION GALLERY: Jesse MacKenzie photos on Facebook
Port Orchard hit the crossbar and the post in near misses but at the break it remained 1-0 Steel United.
Six In The Second
The explosive second half wasted no time in getting underway. Derek Johnson scored his first ever goal as a POFC player in the 46th minute to tie the match 1-1.
Steel jumped back ahead 2-1 a few minutes later. Jaggar Judkins then scored his first POFC goal in the 67th minute to draw the home side level 2-2. The back and forth battle continued.
Behind Three Times
Mere moments later Steel once again took the lead as an out of sorts Port Orchard back line let one get blasted in on a scramble in front of goal. It was 3-2 visitors, marking the first time in club history that POFC had been behind three times in a single match
Here Comes The Wave
A tidal wave of POFC goals ended the match. In there somewhere Steel were reduced to 10 men when a second yellow was given. The Puyallup side came unraveled and were unable to keep up.
Joscha Schulte-Holtey headed home a perfect cross from Derek Johnson to bring POFC even at 3-3 in the 74th.
Nick Riders and Jeremy Ford did a perfect schoolyard give and go to put Port Orchard up for good 4-3 in the 78th. Riders began and finished the play.
Derek Johnson notched a brace when he poked one past the keeper in the 85th.
The match ended just seconds after Kai Pahl fed a ball into the middle that was perfectly directed into the back of the goal by Julian Valencia.
Head Coach Patrick Leonard talks with players Derek Johnson and Javier Luevanos in the “POFC Postmatch” video below.
Port Orchard FC had come from behind three times and managed to still double the score of an opponent. It was a day to reflect on the good vibes but to also take inventory of some needed fixes before the Cascadia Premier League First Division kicks off on June 2. The Tacoma Stars Reserves visit Port Orchard that day at 3 PM. The club has just under 2 weeks now to get ready.
The entire POFC-Steel United match replay can be watched below courtesy of Dave Radovich.
Here are some scenes from around the stadium at the 2024 opener.
