Craig Tomlinson felt he had some making up to do.
A week ago, the North Sound SeaWolves’ 39-year-old veteran picked up two yellow cards and was sent off, leaving his team short in a disappointing home loss to Abbotsford.
Saturday, Tomlinson showed there’s still something left in the ol
d man’s legs.
The longtime Seattle Sounder, in his first game back after serving a one-game suspension for the yellow cards, made an outstanding run down the sideline and sent a perfect cross to a wide-open Brady Ballew, who scored in the 84th minute to give the SeaWolves a huge 2-1 victory o
ver the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency team in front of about 130 fans at Goddard Stadium.
It was North Sound’s fourth win in its last five matches and improved the SeaWolves to 4-3-3, moving them past the Whitecaps (4-3-2) in the Premier Development League Northwest Division standings. Depending on the Victoria-Abbotsford result from late Saturday night, North Sound could find itself in third place today. At worst, the SeaWolves passed Vancouver and move into fourth. The top two qualify for the postseason.
Given the circumstances of the game — playing against a developmental team of Major League Soccer’s Whitecaps and facing a three-game road trip next — SeaWolves’ coach Alex Silva said the win was the biggest in his team’s short history.
“They had a few players from their MLS team and we knew it would be a tough game,” Silva said. “It was a challenge for our players and a great chance for our guys to prove themselves. It’s a happy day.”
Indeed, this wasn’t an ordinary PDL team North Sound faced. With five players representing Canada at the U-17 World Cup, Vancouver took four players off of the MLS team’s roster, including Wes Knight and Blake Wagner, who have each started eight games for the Whitecaps’ top club.
It showed, as Vancouver controlled possession for much of the game and early on looked like it would win handily. But North Sound held on, sparked by another active, gritty game by goalkeeper Claudio Lazar, who saved a point-blank shot in the 7th minute and continually came off his line to make plays on the ball.
Finally, North Sound took the lead in the 39th minute when Abdu Aman handled Zach Hammond’s through-ball and finished for his third goal of the season.
That lead held up for the next 43 minutes as Lazar made another dazzling diving save in the 73rd minute. But in the 82nd, Juan Carlos Marquez handled a loose ball in the goal box off a corner kick and beat Lazar to tie the match.
But it only took two more minutes for North Sound to rally. Tomlinson, who started the match at right midfield before moving to left fullback midway through the second half, gained control and executed a perfect give-and-go to Marshall Kosaka. Streaking down the sideline, Tomlinson crossed to Ballew, a Marysville native who scored his third goal into the right side of the net.
“It was a terrific combination between Marshall and Craig,” Ballew said. “It worked exactly like we practice it and Craig’s pass made it really easy for me to just send it in.”
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.”
Picking up three points at home just before heading on the road for three matches was vitally important to a team battling for a playoff spot and facing a matchup against first-place Kitsap next.
“It’s tough to get three points on the road so to get them at home every chance you get is huge,” Ballew said. “This win puts us in great position.”
“To have the chance we have, in our first year, is great to see,” Silva added. “I’m really proud of these guys.”
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