PASL Preview: Pumas, Shock in playoff thriller rematch

Premier Weekend: The South Sound Shock will host the Kitsap Pumas on Saturday night in Gig Harbor in a rematch of last year’s playoff thriller that was decided in penalty kicks. Meanwhile the 5.9 Mile Derby debuts in Marysville, the undfeated Skyhawks host the Wenatchee Fire in Snohomish, and the Tumwater Pioneers travel to Salem to tackle Oregon Blacktails FC. This week’s bye goes to the WSA Rapids of Bellingham.

In Professional Arena Soccer League action the Tacoma Stars have headed south to face the San Diego Sockers and Mexico on Saturday and Sunday.

South Sound Shock : Kitsap Pumas, Dec. 15, 7 PM Gig Harbor Soccer Center. The Kitsap Pumas trailed the South Sound Shock 6:4 last year in the division playoffs with around two minutes left. The Bremerton bunch made a miracle rally and tied the match 6:6 with two goals in under a half-minute, and eventually ousted the Shock 7:6 in a penalty kick shootout. Now the two sides meet again, and both enter the contest undefeated. The Pumas are scoring goals in bunches and the Shock are coming off a contest where nine different players scored. The clubs will meet again on January 5th in Bremerton. Look for Pumas fans to make the short trip across county lines to see the match.

Snohomish Skyhawks : Wenatchee Fire, December 15, 7 PM, Snohomish Soccer Dome. The Skyhawks are 2-0-0 and the Fire are 0-0-2 after the sides met last week in the Apple Capital and Snoho took a 5:3 win. We’ve been working with the Skyhawks and hope to have a club preview online soon. Snohomish are a bit of a secret until then. The Fire have not responded to our requests for information and interviews so far.

Marysville Ruckus FC : Arlington Aviators FC, December 15, 7 PM, Marysville Indoor Sports. We have already previewed the match and this new derby here.

Oregon Blacktails FC: Tumwater Pioneers, Dec. 15, Salem Indoor Soccer Center. Two expansion sides meet up in Salem, where the Pioneers will be looking to improve on their 8-goal loss at Kitsap in their only match so far. The Blacktails are 1-1-0 after a 10:9 win over Marysville and a 9:6 loss to South Sound.