STARS FALL TO DALLAS 5-4 IN OVERTIME
ALLEN, TX. – The Stars (1-2) were bitten by COVID protocols for the second consecutive game as 11 players were missing in the team’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Sidekicks (1-4) at the Allen Event Center. With several players making their season debut with Tacoma, Dallas managed to hold the Stars to just 13 shots in the game, nine of them in the 4th quarter.
Three of Tacoma’s shots came in the opening frame and they picked up the only goal of the quarter when Mike Ramos slid a pass to Steve Mohn at the back post for a quick tap in and a 1-0 lead.
Felipe De Sousa, who netted a hat-trick for Dallas leveled the match with 8:43 to go in the 2nd on an unassisted goal. It took just 22 seconds for the next Dallas goal as Anthony Powell found Tacoma keeper Mike Arguello off his line for a chip in goal, putting the Sidekicks up 2-1. The final goal of the first half was De Sousa’s second of the game, this one assisted by Ricardinho Carvalho and the Stars went to the locker room trailing 3-1. Tacoma sent just one shot towards the goal in the second quarter.
Like the first quarter, the third also featured just one goal. This one however, belonged to the Sidekicks when Julio Varela found Dario Joya for his first of the season and a 4-1 Dallas lead. Defensively, the Sidekicks did not allow a Tacoma shot in the 3rd quarter, and they had just four heading into the 4th.
The final quarter of regulation was a different story for Tacoma. The shots were plenty and three consecutive goals tied the match with 8:03 to go in the 4th. First up was Douglas Lima’s second goal of the season, assisted by Alex Caceres and the Ramos sent a rocket passed Dallas keeper Juan Gamboa bringing the Stars within one with 9:29 on the clock. Just over a minute later, Philip Lund was in the right place at the right time and he recorded his first of the year, and Ramos had the assist which was his third point of the night. The Stars had woken up and taken advantage of the fact that De Sousa had been sent off on a yellow card for delay of game and two Stars goals came while De Sousa was serving his penalty.
Though the Stars played with increased energy during the overtime period, the were not able to get a clear look at the Dallas net for a shot and eventually, De Sousa ended the game with his third goal of the match, his seventh of the season. It was Tacoma’s second overtime game in just three outings on the year.
The Stars will have a quick turnaround as their next game comes on Thursday and will be the first of three in just four days.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – TAC McNeley (Ramos) 3:32. Penalties – none.
2nd – DAL De Sousa 6:17; DAL Powell (Joya) 6:39; DAL De Sousa (Carvalho) 10:55. Penalties – none.
3rd – DAL Joya (Varela) 13:48. Penalties – none.
4th – TAC Lima (Caceres) 3:55; TAC Ramos 5:31; TAC Lund (Ramos) 6:57. Penalties – DAL De Sousa yellow card (delay of game) 4:39.
OT – DAL De Sousa 4:44. Penalties - none
Shots – Tacoma 3-1-0-9-0 (13), Dallas 4-7-3-3-3 (20)
Next week it is three games in four days for the Stars when they travel to Lakeland Florida for a round-robin tournament with the host Tropics, San Diego Sockers, and Ontario Fury. First up for the Stars is Florida at 12:00 pm PST on Thursday the 18th. Every game can be seen live at https://www.facebook.com/MASLsoccer/events.
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