Geoducks open 2024 men’s soccer season with defeat at home

After a 9-month offseason break, collegiate men’s soccer returns to the The Evergreen State College, but the Geoducks were off to an unfortunate start as they were battered 4-0 at home by Canada-based University of Victoria last August 17 at Geoduck Pitch.

It was not an ideal start for the Geoducks, who are vying for a postseason spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) with a 6th-seed finish from the 2023 season after an overall record of six wins, eight defeats and four losses overall, to which a 5-4-4 (win-loss-draw) record was from CCC schools for a decent 19-point finish.

They ended their season in the first playoff round against the College of Idaho.

Evan Larson is unplayable for the Vikes, but he was vital for the visitors. He was involved in all the Victorian goals, netting two goals and two assists in a man-of-the-match performance.

Larson opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a 12-yard strike, followed up with a drilled cross to Archie Tugwell’s finish to double their lead in the 38th minute, holding the lead up until halftime.

With their commanding lead, the Vikes started with all guns blazing in the second half, scoring twice in the 49th minute. Larson’s second goal and Matteus Achadinha’s second-half goals came in 36 seconds in between to seal the game.

Despite this rinsing at home, Evergreen went out swinging. Forward Gabriel Delgado almost scored a minute into the second half, with his shot just shaving the crossbar, while the six-foot-two center-back Joshua Coetzee slammed a free header in the 79th minute only to be saved by the Vikes keeper Callum Weir.

Evergreen goalkeeper Brendan Gribek, despite being peppered with shots the whole 90 minutes, was composed between the gates as he saved 11 attempts from the opposition to keep the scoreline honorable for the hosts.

The final stats showed the Canadian domination: They recorded 32 shots over Evergreen’s two, while 17 shots from the Vikes were on target compared to the hosts’ one.

The Geoducks will return to action on Saturday, August 31, as they travel to Walla Walla, WA, to face Whitman College at 7 p.m. kickoff. Their first CCC opponent will be Eastern Oregon University at La Grande, OR, on September 20, in a doubleheader opening salvo with their women’s soccer counterparts. The lads will return to Geoduck Pitch on September 27 to face Northwest University.