By Chris Trujillo
Herald Writer
LAKEWOOD – Simo Farah has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
Saturday, his good timing led to an eventual game-winning goal as the Edmonds Community College Tritons blanked Tacoma Community College 2-0 in the semifinals of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges men’s soccer championship tournament played at Lakewood’s Lang Stadium.
“We had some good pressure all game,” EdCC first-year coach Eddie Fernandez said. “We had a lot of chances in the first half but we just couldn’t find the target until the second half.”
The Tritons, who were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by Tacoma last season, will play for the championship at 4 p.m. today against the winner of North Idaho and Bellevue.
“That’s all we’ve been thinking about,” Simo said. “We came out here to beat Tacoma and we did. Now we’re going to win the championship.
Farah, a Morocco-born freshman, wedged himself between a line of Tacoma defenders 10 yards from the goal. It was just a matter of luck that Ryan Hopp’s blistering line-drive shot deflected off Farah’s back and bounced in the goal at the 54th minute, giving EdCC a 1-0 lead.
The Tritons exploited a one-man advantage late in the second half after Tacoma’s Ryan Clausen received a red card for a flagrant slide tackle and was ejected. Tacoma’s depleted defense couldn’t stop the EdCC penetration, which resulted in a Patrick Pollock goal as the Tritons took a cushy 2-0 lead.
EdCC goalkeeper Richard Hawksworth, who slammed the door shut on Tacoma’s best scoring opportunity in the 71st minute, fought off six Tacoma shots to pickup the shutout.
“We’ve been talking about him all year,” Fernandez said. “He was huge for us. He really deserved the shutout.”
EdCC women derailed: Krista Hytrek scored three times in the second half to lead Walla Walla to a 3-1 victory over the defending champion Tritons Saturday during the semifinals of the NWAACC championship tournament played at Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
Hytrek converted on three of her five second-half shots, and delivered all but one of the team’s 10 shots.
The Tritons (16-2-1), who took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the first half off an Erin Halbert goal, will play Tacoma for third place at noon today.
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