Late Surge Pushes Sonora Past Tacoma, 15-10

by Brett Gleason

SONORA, Mexico. -- The Tacoma Stars (11-7) dropped a late lead in a 15-10 loss to Soles De Sonora (15-2) on Saturday night at Centro de Usos MĂșltiples.

Stars defender Adam West, midfielder Joseph Cairel, and forward Derek Johnson combined to contribute six goals and two assists to the Tacoma effort. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman recorded 23 saves on 38 shots in his 60 minutes of work in the net.

Stars defender Steve Mohn notched his first goal of the season just under three minutes into the match to give Tacoma an early 1-0 lead. Sonora answered with a trio of goals from Alejandro Leyva, Erick Rosas, and Roberto Escalante to take a 3-1 lead.

Tacoma caught fire in the second quarter with four goals, three of which came from a trio of power plays, to jump out to a 5-3 lead. Sonora would manage a pair of goals in the final five minutes of the first half to even the score at 5-5 heading into the break.

A trio of Tacoma goals from Cairel, Johnson, and Gjertsen and a pair of Sonora goals from Franck Tayou gave the Stars an 8-7 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw a total of 10 goals, eight of which were scored by Sonora. Tayou and Leyva combined to knock in six goals in the final quarter to propel Sonora to a 15-10 victory.

Tacoma returns home for a match against the San Diego Sockers next Saturday, Feb. 20 - first kick is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.

Single game tickets, season ticket packages, group outings, and suite offerings for the Tacoma Stars 2015-16 season are available now. To purchase, call 1-844-STARS-TIME or visit the Stars online at www.tacomastars.com. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Stars can be found by following the Stars on Twitter (@TacomaStarsSC) or liking the team on Facebook.