Shock win PASL NW Division Final, Nationals next in San Diego (videos)

GIG HARBOR, Wash. — The Gig Harbor Soccer Center was packed on Sunday afternoon February 17th as the Kitsap Pumas and South Sound Shock battled for the PASL NW Division playoff crown and a trip to nationals in San Diego in March. In the end the first-seed Shock were too much for the second-seed Pumas as South Sound put up a 7:4 victory. (See OlySports.com match photos.)

Wilson Tsoi Photos: See gallery at Facebook.com/goalWA

Moments after the match we spoke with South Sound’s Derek Johnson, who scored two goals on the day and was also the goalWA.net PASL NW Player of the Week twice this (regular) season. See the video below.

Jeff Graham of the Kitsap Sun filed this match report. The Pumas give the Shock credit for hard work and timely goals. “Those guys can go down there and cause trouble,” Dustyn Brim said of the Shock’s chances at Nationals in San Diego in the second week of March.

The Pumas led the match only once, at 1:0. It was 2:1 South Sound at halftime and then the proceedings livened up with eight second-half goals.

“We had amazing leadership from team captain Byron Conforti and head coach Jason Gjertsen to stay disciplined and committed to defend,” says South Sound manager John Crouch. “In the second half our movement was exactly what we had trained for. We made it count when it mattered most against a really good Kitsap squad.”

Derek Johnson scored twice on Sunday as the South Sound Shock beat the Kitsap Pumas 7:4 in the PASL NW Division Final. (Wilson Tsoi)

The back-breaker for the Pumas was likely the long-strided romp of Derek Johnson that made the score 6:4. Kitsap had trailed 5:2 until Matt Friesen scored back-to-backers to rally the Pumas in the third quarter. Johnson’s second goal of the match provided a cushion for the Shock. It was all but over when South Sound chipped the Kitsap sixth-attacker to make it 7:4 with just a few minutes to go.

Nate Ford scored three goals to lead the Shock.

The Shock applauded their support and posed for a team photo with the glow of victory on their faces.

The Kitsap Pumas have been to two straight division finals. Last year they fell to the WSA Rapids at the same playoff stage.

South Sound Shock 7 Kitsap Pumas 4
Goals for SSFC: Byron Conforti (1), Nate Ford (3), Derek Johnson (2), Joe Snow (1)
Assists for SSFC: Byron Conforti (1), Joey Gjertsen (2), Lukas Rydberg (1)
Saves for Shock Keeper Aaron Anderson- 22
Goals for Kitsap Pumas: Matt Friesen (2), Pat Perkins (1), Victor Kelmel (1)
Assists for Kitsap Pumas: Matt Friesen (1)
Saves for Pumas Keeper Dusty Brim- 21

Dustyn Brim shouts instructions to his Pumas. (Wilson Tsoi)

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South Sound’s Nate Ford is in the right place and levels the match 1:1. (Wilson Tsoi)

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7 Comments on “Shock win PASL NW Division Final, Nationals next in San Diego (videos)”

Blue collar
February 17, 2013

Boom boom boom let me hear you say way oh !!!

Reply
Carl
February 18, 2013

What a great match by two great teams. Too bad we can’t send two teams to National. Go SHOCK!

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chris
February 18, 2013

As a Pumas fan, obviously, I am disappointed with the results of this match. Having getting to know the players the past 4 years (indoor and outdoor teams) and seeing how close they got last year with a trip to the Nationals, we wanted them to take this win and earn the trip to San Diego.

Going back to December 2011 when the Pumas opened the last season at home against a new team in the league, South Sound Shock, we saw that the Pumas found a worthy rival and that the following matches would be tough, heated bouts. Pumas won the 2 regular season matches and then met the Shock in the 1st round of last season’s playoff. Two Justin Stoddard goals in the final 75 seconds to tie the match and send it to a shootout where the Pumas’ Greg Miley scored the only goal to cap a dramatic victory for the Pumas while crushing the Shock.

We knew this season was going to be tougher for our Pumas when they faced South Sound twice. A goal with 4 seconds left to tie in Gig Harbor this December only added more fuel to the fire for the Shock. In the return match in Bremerton in January, South Sound did an excellent job in baiting the Pumas into an extremely physical match that resulted in 6 power play opportunities for the Shock and they scored on 4 of those man advantages for a 7-4 win.

And that set the stage for Sunday’s Championship title fight. The Shock took advantage of each Puma miscue and made them pay for it. Same as the match in January, on Sunday, the Shock were the better team.

I will be shocked (pun fully intended) if South Sound does not play in the PASL Championship match in 2 weeks. They should survive group play (probably 3 matches featuring two 18-minute halves) to enter the knock-out round starting with the semifinals. Last season, WSA Rapids from Bellingham were eliminated in the semis – I see the Shock getting to the Finals (four 10 minute quarters format) and probably winning it.

So Best Wishes to the Shock in returning the Premier Championship back to the Puget Sound region as the Tacoma Stars did in 2010.

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Michael James Anthony
February 27, 2013

Great Job Shock! Good Luck in sunny San Diego! Proud of you Byron. MJA

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