PORT ORCHARD, WA—Port Orchard Football Club recorded a second straight shutout on Fathers Day with a 3-0 win over Washington Premier FC at Kitsap Bank Stadium on June 16. The defensive performance follows a 4-0 win over Eastside FC on June 9.
The back line of goalkeeper Jordan Hadden, centerbacks Liam Miller and Joscha Schulte-Holtey and outside backs Aidan Harvey and Ryan Anderson didn’t give WPFC much room to operate. When the visitors did break through the POFC defense quickly adjusted and cleared.
In the middle Derek Johnson was lurking to provide offensive bursts while Eli Gish broke up counterattacks. Javier Luevanos worked hard both ways, providing steady control.
“We knew that after our win against Eastside FC it was an opportunity make this a positive turn in this season,” said Head Coach Patrick Leonard. “The goal was to have a strong result against Washington Premier. Although I felt we started slow I thought we got there in the end. That was a young but very talented WPFC side.”
“For us to come away from that game with a second clean sheet was important to us. Jordan led the backline with his communication, and then when you have Liam and Joscha’s composure with Aidan and Ryan’s tenacity on the outsides, the back line was able to continue to get familiar with one another.”
POFC came alive just after halftime kickoff with Derek Johnson finding Jaggar Judkins for the close-range shot. Jaggar’s 5th goal of the year and Derek’s 4th assist (both team highs) made it 1-0.
MATCH GALLERY: Jesse MacKenzie on Facebook
MATCH GALLERY: Robert Law on Facebook
About 22 minutes later Michael Divano scored his 27th goal all-time for POFC when he took a pass from Connor Louden and blasted it into the upper left corner of the WPFC goal. The way the match was playing out that second goal looked like a clincher.
Connor Louden had his turn and POFC made the outcome beyond doubt late on when Jake MacKenzie calmly collected a rebound off of a cross from Divano (that hit the WPFC keeper’s arms) and sent the ball directly back to Louden for a put-away strike. It was 3-0 and the only drama left would be to see if Port Orchard could complete the shutout. They did so with Hadden and new goalkeeper signee Austin Valdez (West Seattle, Utah Valley University) sharing the cleen sheet.
“I think you’re really starting to see this team gel into what we have been trying to be this season,” Leonard suggests. “With the attack we have and the defense coming together how it has, we are going in a good direction. We have tests coming up with good teams the second time around over the next couple weeks. The boys know the opportunity at hand to right some wrongs earlier this season. It’s an opportunity for us to show growth and it’s an opportunity I’m excited to take.”
Port Orchard improved their CPL1 Rainier Division record to two wins and two losses, giving the club 6 standing points halfway through the 8-match regular season. The top two teams make the playoffs and POFC are now tied with Sporting International and Eastside FC.
DaveSPN called the match with Dave Radovich and Caleb Tucker narrating the POFC win. You can watch their video below.
626 tickets were sold for the Fathers Day match with roughly half of those in attendance on a partly sunny afternoon.
Port Orchard FC travels to University Place on Saturday June 22 for a 1:45 PM kickoff against first place and unbeaten Tacoma Stars Reserves at Curtis High School. The two clubs met back on June 2 with TSR taking a 4-2 win in a driving rainstorm at Kitsap Bankd Stadium.
