A late goal by Brady Ballew gave the North Sound SeaWolves FC their fourth win in the last five games as they continue their pursuit for a place in the PDL playoffs. Playing against a strong Vancouver Whitecaps side that included several players who have played for the Whitecaps in MLS, the SeaWolves were able to come out victorious thanks to a strong defensive performance and a cutting edge in front of goal.
PDL Scoreboard: Portland 3:3 Washington Crossfire, Victoria 1:0 Abbotsford
by Erik Schwedhelm
A goal by Abdul Aman put the SeaWolves into the lead in the 39th minute after a through ball by Zach Hammond. The Whitecaps equalized on 82 minutes through Juan Carlos Marquez after a scramble in the box. But two minutes later the SeaWolves grabbed the winner after a cross from Craig Tomlinson was shot in the back of the net by Brady Ballew.
The match started with Vancouver on the front foot as they created a few half chances on goal. Forward Caleb Clarke fought off Brandon Gonzales on the side of the box and shot weak right at SeaWolves goalkeeper Claudio Lazar. Then two minutes later it was Clarke again who tested Lazar after turning away from Gonzalez at the top of the box. However his shot was also right at Lazar.
Throughout the first half, chances were few and far between. Vancouver maintained most of the possession but lacked the final pass to turn that possession into a goal.
It wasn’t until the 18th minute before the first scoring chance of the match went to the Whitecaps. Defender Le’Vere Corbin passed into the box to Clarke, who held up the ball and passed back to Nanchoff, who shot over the bar.
On 23 minutes, the SeaWolves had two excellent chances to take the lead. A long throw by fullback Kevin Cook fell to Craig Tomlinson, who unleashed a blistering volley that was brilliantly tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Callum Irving. After the resulting corner kick, which was collected and cleared by Irving, the punt up-field was misjudged at midfield allowing Arturo Brambila space going forward. He then passed to Tomlinson who shot low, forcing another save from Irving.
The SeaWolves attack grew during the course of the half. They found success playing balls through the Whitecaps defense and using Aman’s pace to run onto ball. However, he was only a few steps short of being able to get a shot off.
Despite the constant threat by the Whitecaps, it was the SeaWolves who took the lead in the 39th minute. Midfielder Zach Hammond won the ball at midfield, ran up-field 20 yards, and passed to Abdul Aman, who slotted past Irving for the goal.
Three minutes after scoring his goal, Aman was given a yellow card for sliding in on a Whitecap and bringing him down.
The SeaWolves took a 1-0 lead into the second half, which was much like the first half. The Whitecaps controlled the majority of possession without creating any real goal scoring opportunities.
However, in the 73rd minute, the Whitecaps had their best chance to score. Midfielder Alex Morfow switched the field to Michael Nanchoff on the right wing. Nanchoff then crossed into the box and was met by a diving header by Clarke. The header was destined for the back of the net had it not been for an amazing diving save by Claudio Lazar.
The Whitecaps finally turned their possession into a goal in the 82th minute. A corner taken by Ben Fisk was half cleared by the SeaWolves, but Zach Hammond got in the way of the ball. The ball appeared to hit Hammond’s arm but no penalty was given, despite the protests of the Whitecaps. The ball was not cleared and Juan Carlos Marquez, who came on a few minutes before, acted the quickest and shot past Lazar to equalize the game.
It appeared as if the Whitecaps had done enough to salvage a point from the match, but there was to be one last twist in the 84rd minute. After a long run down the left wing by Craig Tomlinson, the SeaWolves midfielder crossed the ball into the box and found Brady Ballew all alone. Ballew shot and although Callum Irving was able to get a hand on it, the shot was too powerful and it ended up in the back of the net.
The Whitecaps pressured for the final minutes of the game but they could not beat the SeaWolves’ stingy defense. The SeaWolves held on for the vital 2-1 win as they move above the Whitecaps into third place in the Northwest division of the PDL.
Whitecaps say…
Residency technical director Craig Dalrymple had mixed emotions concerning his team’s performance in Washington State on Saturday night. “I’m pleased with the way we played tonight. We traded enough chances to win two games, but their goalkeeper made some key saves,” he told whitecapsfc.com. “We were really buoyed by the addition of some first-team players, who settled our squad down. We possessed the ball well and connected on our passes, but just conceded some unfortunate counter-attack goals.”
Tomlinson said it was hugely important to him to make up for his yellow cards a week ago.
“I felt a big burden on my shoulders,” he said. “I felt like I let the team down (last week). I could have made smarter decisions and I just wanted to do something to thank the guys for getting my back.”
Tomlinson has primarily been a defensive player after spending most of his career as an attacking player. But Saturday, he got three solid shots early before his big assist.
“I still have something left,” Tomlinson said. “We’ve been making such great, positive progress the last few weeks and I really wanted to do something to help lift the team.”
Weather: Sunny Attendance: 90
Scoing Summary:
SeaWolves: Abdul Aman (Zach Hammond) 39
Whitecaps: Juan Carlos Marquez 83
SeaWolves: Brady Ballew (Craig Tomlinson) 84
In Oregon, Washington Crossfire drew 3:3 with the Timbers U23s. See two fanvids below…
goalWA.net Archive 
One thought on “SeaWolves FC move above Whitecaps Residency into third place, Crossfire draws Timbers U23’s”