BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) – Matt Friesen and Kyle Johnson combined for three goals and three assists as the Kitsap Pumas blanked the
Vancouver Whitecaps Residency 4-0 Sunday afternoon at Bremerton Memorial Stadium. Rounding out the scoring with his first-ever goal as a professional was Jesse Wheelock.
The win keeps Kitsap (8-0-2, 26 league points) in first place in the USL Premier Development League Northwest Division. They hold a
four-point cushion over the Seattle Wolves and the Portland Timbers U23, who are tied for second.
Kitsap is also one of only five undefeated teams left in the entire PDL and are second out of 68 teams in the league with a paltry six goals allowed. The team’s +19 goal differential is also second in the league. They are just two points behind the Long Island Rough Riders for the best overall record in the league.
Friesen, getting his first start in three games, scored in the eighth minute when Johnson found him just outside the goal box for a left-footed strike.
In the 31st minute, Johnson put a corner into play that a Vancouver defender tried to clear but slipped and fell. Friesen quickly snagged the ball and put in another shot for his second goal of the game.
“The service from him was fantastic,” Friesen said of Johnson’s passes. “I could have had three or four (goals) but I could only take two, so I’m happy with that.”
Johnson was rewarded for his passes in the 43rd minute. Tony Kerr made a terrific cross pass on a ball that was just about out of bounds in the Vancouver end.
Johnson crashed the goal and tapped it in before the Vancouver defense could knock it away. The entire sequence covered nearly the entire length of the field in five touches.
“That goal was just a beautiful end to a nice piece of play,” head coach John Wedge said. “I didn’t think (Tony) could get there but he
put in a fantastic cross – it was just a great piece of work.”
Kitsap played keep away for most of the second half.
But with the thunder-and-lightning-diminished crowd of 564 rooting for a fourth goal so they couldgett free chalupa from Taco Bell, Sampson couldn't let the fans go home unhappy. Sampson made a pass to Jesse Wheelock on a perfectly weighted ball from the ever present Friesen near the Whitecaps goal box.
Wheelock didn’t hesitate, punching the ball past a stock still Julien Latendresse-Levesque to send the bench and the crowd into a frenzy.
It’s Wheelock’s first goal of the season.
“We wanted to give the fans chalupas,” Friesen said with a laugh. “It was great for Jesse to get a goal.
Will Sturgess got the start for defender Max Lipset, who was unavailable due to a red card suspension earned against Victoria
Friday night.
The tough Brit, and fellow central defender Taylor Hyde, helped goalkeeper Dustyn Brim earn his fourth shutout of the season. Brim is currently second in the entire PDL for goalkeeper wins, and in the Top Ten in shutouts and goals allowed average with just four goals in 720 minutes of play for an average of .500. The Pumas have allowed just two goals at home in regular-season play this season.
Kitsap continues its homestand when they host the surging Spokane Spiders Saturday at 7 p.m., then follow that with a quick turnaround in a key game against second-place Seattle Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets and the Pumas front office.
