EdCC men seek revenge

  • Chris Trujillo / Herald Writer
  • Tuesday, November 13, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

By Chris Trujillo

Herald Writer

EDMONDS – You can be sure that the Edmonds Community College men’s soccer team has not forgotten the team that shattered its 16-game winning streak and bounced it from the postseason last year.

In fact, the Tritons have been waiting all year for a chance to return the favor. The only difference is that Tacoma Community College is not entering Saturday’s Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges playoff game with an immaculate record to tarnish.

Nevertheless, the Tritons would be just as happy to dump last season’s NWAACC champions from its title defense.

“It was tough to lose last year,” EdCC coach Eddie Fernandez said. “For last year’s players and me, it still stings a little bit. But if we weren’t playing Tacoma our approach wouldn’t be any different. It’s just that, we’ll be able to celebrate a little bit more when we beat them.”

The Tritons will seek their revenge against Tacoma (20-3-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Lang Stadium in the city of Lakewood. (For those with access to the Internet, go to www.nwaacc.org for directions to the stadium.)

Saturday’s winner will move on to play the winner of Saturday’s semifinal game between North Idaho College and Bellevue. The championship game is 6 p.m. on Sunday.

“They are holding the cup right now,” Fernandez said. “And you always want to beat the defending champion just to prove yourself. They really didn’t beat us last year. We beat ourselves by not executing.”

EdCC, which returns six players from last year’s team, advanced to the second round of the playoffs last week by defeating Southwest Oregon 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Returning starter Patrick Pollock scored two goals to lead the Tritons to their 14th season victory. Simo Farah scored seven minutes into the game to give EdCC an early 1-0 lead.

Pollock scored his first goal at the 55th minute off a 12-yard penalty kick to give the Tritons a 2-0 advantage. Ryan Hopp, the team and the league’s top scorer, increased the lead to three off a free-kick goal with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

“The key for us is our defense,” Fernandez said. “We didn’t allow any scoring chances, that is something we have to do against Tacoma.”

The Tritons, who plan on attack from the get-go, will look to their fast-paced offense to keep the ball away from Tacoma, according to Fernandez. It’s a luxury the team possesses thanks to its speedy front line and quick defenders.

Defending champs on track: The Edmonds Community College women’s soccer team is two victories away from repeating as league champions.

The Tritons (16-2-1) defeated Lower Columbia, 3-0 in the quarterfinals last week and will play Walla Walla (17-5-1) in the semis at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Lang Stadium in the city of Lakewood.

EdCC and Walla Walla split their regular season series 1-1 with EdCC winning the second meeting 3-2. The Tritons were held scoreless in a 2-0 loss in early October. The winner of Saturday’s game will play the winner of Tacoma and North Idaho at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Second chances: Bill Kellogg and his Edmonds Community College volleyball team are hoping this year’s playoff run will last longer than last year’s first-round elimination.

The Tritons, who defeated Skagit Valley 2-0 last week to earn the final playoff berth, will face off against undefeated Mount Hood (14-0) at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Bellevue Community College. Mount Hood enters the playoffs ranked No. 2 in NWAACC coaches’ poll just released. Last season, EdCC went in as the No. 3 seed and finished 13th out of 16 teams.

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