Tigard Boys soccer went up against Glencoe High School in a home match on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Despite the cold weather, a decent gathering of people came to spectate. It was a very action packed match, with many goals scored in quick succession.

Off the bat, Tigard dominated possession. Preferring to play it safe, they fell back when necessary to avoid giving up the ball to Glencoe. During the first few minutes, Tigard held the ball consistently, and persistently pushed up the field, making several runs but being caught off-sides numerous times. Still, early on Tigard showed Glencoe that they were serious about putting up a fight.

Then, in a lightning fast change of tempo, Glencoe took the ball, popping not one but two up close shots on Tigard goalkeeper, senior Joni Villanueva. Villanueva was able to block the first, but Glencoe fired a quick rebound shot, scoring the first point of the game.

5 minutes later, Tigard retaliates with their first shot, unfortunately missing the goal.

With only 18 minutes in the half remaining, senior midfield Charles Petitjean takes up the offensive, lobbing a high shot from far out. His shot was just high enough, that the Glencoe goalkeeper just barely managed to get a hand on it, stopping what would have been an impressive goal.

For the remainder of the half, Tigard keeps most of the possession, but fails to capitalize on opportunities to score. With one minute remaining, a free kick is awarded to Glencoe. The Glencoe free kick taker lays the ball off to a second man, who promptly turns and crashes into one of the refs, sending them both sprawling. Standing up, a few heated words towards the ref can be heard from the Glencoe player, earning him his second yellow (the first came from a previous foul) and prompt ejection from the match. Glencoe is forced to play the remainder of the match with one less player on the field.

With the start of the second half, it is obvious that whatever Tigard coach Tracy Hasson told his players, it worked. In quick succession, juniors Sinan Raja and Brandon Pliego each scored a goal of their own, bringing Tigard ahead at 2 – 1.

As if that weren’t enough, senior Sean Mcmanamon tops it off with a goal of his own, just 10 minutes later. But Tigard doesn’t slack for a second, keeping Glencoe on their toes with yet more shots coming in, though none of them really challenge the goalkeeper.

To add insult to injury with only a few minutes remaining, junior Caesar Contrares and freshman Francisco Ramirez add their own goals to the tally, finishing the match at a blowout 5-1.