Mike Rancipher and the Pioneers thank the fans following their 9-7 win

TUMWATER, WA – The Tumwater Pioneers scored five unanswered goals over a ten minute span in the third and fourth quarters and held on to notch their first PASL win, a 9-7 victory over a shorthanded Oregon Blacktails squad on Saturday night at Tumwater Indoor Sports. Mike Rancipher scored a hat trick in the win for the Pioneers and Albert Anabtawi scored the go ahead goal with eight minutes to play in the Pios’ home finale. Isaiah Escobedo scored a hat trick of his own for the Blacktails in the loss.

Isaiah Escobedo opened the scoring early for the Blacktails, beating Pios’ keeper Mauricio Sanchez with just three minutes gone in the first quarter. Mike Rancipher answered back for Tumwater two minutes later to tie the game at one. The Blacktails fielded just seven players against the Pioneers and slowed the game down, holding possession for a good part of the first quarter, which ended with just the two goals.

Tyler Hagen scored his first goal of the game a minute into the second quarter and Carlos Ochoa added another at the seven minute mark to give the Blacktails a 3-1 lead. During that stretch, Oregon’s Juan Gavidia injured his leg and left the field unable to return giving the Blacktails no subs on the bench. Nathan Murphy took advantage hitting a goal with 5:50 left to play in the half and the Pioneers went to the break down by one, 3-2.

Escobedo got on the board again for the Blacktails just 15 seconds into the second half to once again give the Blacktails a two goal lead. But the game changed dramatically when Oregon keeper Raphael Weber went down with an apparent groin injury and had to leave the game. Gavidia, who had not played since his injury in the second quarter, hobbled off the bench and took over in goal for Oregon.

The Pioneers’ leading goal scorer, Kevin Flavin, cut the Blacktails lead to just one, scoring off of the free kick when Ochoa was sent off with a blue card with seven minutes left in the third quarter. But again, Escobedo answered giving the Blacktails a 5-3 lead at the 2:45 mark. The tide started to turn when Flavin was awarded a penalty shot with just ten seconds left in the quarter and beat Gavidia for his second goal of the game and 12th of the season. The quarter came to an end with the Pioneers trailing by one, 5-4.

George Bundy tied the game with a power play goal at the ten minute mark before Anabtawi hit a scorcher to give the Pioneers their first lead of the game, 6-5. Ranchipher scored two straight goals to extend the Pios lead to three, 8-5, before Hagen hit for the Blacktails off of the restart ending Tumwater’s five goal run. Bundy scored his second goal of the period with three minutes left but Ochoa’s power play goal with less than two minutes to play got the Blacktails to within two, 9-7. But Oregon ran out of gas and the Pioneers held on for their first league win in their home finale.

Due to a lack of available players, the Pioneers will not send a team to Wenatchee on Sunday for the season finale instead opting to take a forfeit. The game was originally scheduled to be played last Saturday but a scheduling conflict at the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex forced the game to be rescheduled.

As a result, The Pioneers go out on a high note and finish the season at 1-7 overall.

Summary

 Tumwater Pioneers (1-6) vs. Oregon Blacktails (2-6)
 Date: 2/9/13 Location: Tumwater Indoor Sports

 Goals by period      1  2  3  4  Tot
 -------------------------------------
 Oregon...............1  2  2  2    7
 Tumwater............ 1  1  2  5    9

 SCORING:
 Tumwater Pioneers:
 Mike Rancipher.......3
 Kevin Flavin.........2
 George Bundy.........2
 Nathan Murphy........1
 Albert Anabtawi......1

 Oregon Blacktails:
 Isaiah Escobedo......3
 Tyler Hagen..........2
 Carlos Ochoa.........2

TUMWATER, WA – The Tumwater Pioneers arena soccer team wraps up their inaugural season this weekend with a pair of games including the team’s home finale on Saturday, February 9th. First kick against the Oregon Blacktails is set for 7:00 PM at Tumwater Indoor Sports.  Then on Sunday, February 10th, the Pios will travel to Central Washington to take on the Wenatchee Fire at 1:00 PM at the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex in the team’s final game of the 2012-2013 season.

The Pioneers are still looking for their first league win having played the PASL Northwest Division’s two top teams in four of their first six games. But with their series with the South Sound Shock and Kitsap Pumas behind them, they look to get off the schneid against the Blacktails, who are 2-5 in their expansion season, and the 3-3 Fire.

The Pioneers and Blacktails met up in Salem on December 15th and Oregon came away with a 14-5 win after taking an early 5-1 lead behind two goals from Eric Branch. Two first half goals from the Pioneers’ Chris Pugh cut the Blacktails lead to just three at halftime but Tyler Hagen scored four second half goals and Oregon pulled away and moved to 2-1 early in the season. Since then, the Blacktails have lost four straight games.

On Sunday afternoon, the Pioneers have the opportunity to play spoilers. The Fire currently sit in sixth place in the PASL Northwest Division but with a win on Saturday against the Arlington Aviators and a win or draw over the Pioneers on Sunday, the Fire would move into a playoff position.

Tickets for the Pioneers home finale on Saturday night are just $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children and will be for sale at the door. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 PM, doors open at 6:00.

Directions to Tumwater Indoor Sports from Olympia: From I-5 South – Take exit 101, Tumwater Boulevard, and turn left on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn right on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. From Capital Boulevard – Turn right on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn left on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. The address for TIS is 7845 Center Street, Tumwater, WA.

Media notes (PDF): Tumwater Oregon Notes

Photo courtesy of Jeff Slakey/KMAS

TUMWATER, WA – The Kitsap Pumas scored five goals in the first ten minutes of the game and added five more in the span of three minutes and forty four seconds in the second quarter and rode their big first half to an 18-7 win over the Tumwater Pioneers on Saturday night at Tumwater Indoor Sports. Cameron Stone scored five goals and Kyle Johnson and Francisco Cisneros both notched hat tricks for the Pumas. With the win, the Pumas moved to 5-1-1 and clinched a spot in the PASL Northwest Division playoffs.

Kitsap opened up the scoring early when Kyle Johnson notched his first goal of the night at the 13:20 mark of the first quarter. Brian Avila then hit at the 12:17 mark and added another four minutes later to give the Pumas a 3-0 lead. Justin Stoddard and Cameron Stone each added a goal before Kevin Flavin finally broke the Pioneers drought driving a direct free kick following a blue card past Kitsap keeper Marshall Reece. The quarter ended with the Pumas up 5-1.

Corey Johnson’s goal early in the second quarter cut the Kitsap lead to just three goals but it would be a short lived opening. A Stone goal at the 10:40 mark started a Pumas onslaught over the next four minutes that gave them a commanding lead. Francisco Cisneros hit at the 9:13 mark, Stone added another at 8:37, Pat Perkins scored with 7:50 remaining and Stoddard scored at 6:56 to put them up 10-2. Cisneros scored again with 3:24 left in the half. Flavin finally broke the six goal run getting on the board with 17 second remaining in the half but the damage had been done and the Pumas went to the break up 12-3.

The Pios played inspired soccer out of the break and Mike Rancipher scored his first goal of the season early in the second half. Chris Pugh buried a penalty shot following a foul called on Kitsap keeper Reece with 9:12 remaining in the quarter and it looked like the Pios were game for an epic comeback. But Kyle Johnson scored his second goal for the Pumas at the 5:55 mark to put Kitsap up 12-5. The Pios cut the lead to six when Stoddard scored on his own keeper but Matt Friesen answered back less than a minute later and the quarter ended with the Pumas up 13-6.

Johnson and Stone each scored early in the fourth quarter to give the Pumas a 15-6 lead before Corey Johnson scored Tumwater’s final goal of the game at the 11:02 mark. Friesen, Stone and Cisneros rounded out the scoring and Kitsap took home an 18-7 win.

Flavin’s two goals gives him 10 this season, tops on the Pioneers, while Corey Johnson’s pair of goals gives him four. Pugh’s goal was his seventh, good for second on the team behind Flavin.

The Pioneers fell to 0-6 in their expansion season.  They have played the Northwest Division’s toughest schedule as their opponents record to this point is a combined 23-9-3.

The Pioneers hit the road next weekend when they travel to Central Washington to take on the Wenatchee Fire on Saturday, February 2nd.  They return to Tumwater to wrap up their inaugural season against the Oregon Blacktails on Saturday, February 9th.

Summary

 Tumwater Pioneers (0-6) vs. Kitsap Pumas (5-1-1)
 Date: 1/26/13 Location: Tumwater Indoor Sports

 Goals by period      1  2  3  4  Tot
 -------------------------------------
 Kitsap...............5  6  2  5   18
 Tumwater............ 1  2  3  1    7

 SCORING:
 Kitsap Pumas
 Cameron Stone........5
 Kyle Johnson.........3
 Francisco Cisneros...3
 Brian Avila..........2
 Justin Stoddard......2
 Matt Friesen.........2
 Pat Perkins..........1

 Tumwater Pioneers:
 Kevin Flavin.........2
 Corey Johnson........2
 Mike Rancipher.......1
 Chris Pugh...........1
 Kitsap Own Goal......1

The Pioneers and Pumas met on December 1st in Bremerton in the expansion Pioneers’ first game as a member of the PASL Northwest Division. Kitsap woke the Pioneers up taking home an 11-3 win. Kevin Flavin scored two goals for the Pioneers and Chris Pugh added a goal in the loss.

Flavin leads the Pioneers with eight goals this season while Pugh is right behind him with six goals including a hat trick in the Pioneers’ 20-5 loss to the Shock last Saturday night.

Kitsap is currently in second place at 4-1-1 with their loss and draw both coming to the first place South Sound Shock. The Pumas are riding a two game winning streak having knocked off the Oregon Blacktails two times by a combined 21-9. Pat Perkins scored eight goals in those games and was named the goalWA.net PASL Northwest Division player of the week for his four goal, three assist effort against the Blacktails on January 12th.

The Pumas and Pios kick things off at 7:00 PM with doors at Tumwater Indoor Sports opening at 6:00. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children and can be purchased at the door. Day of game ticket sales are cash only. The River’s Edge/Budd Bay Cafe beer garden will be open for fans 21-and-over with ID and concessions will be provided by Tacos de Doña Mary taco truck.

Directions to Tumwater Indoor Sports from Olympia: From I-5 South – Take exit 101, Tumwater Boulevard, and turn left on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn right on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. From Capital Boulevard – Turn right on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn left on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. The address for TIS is 7845 Center Street, Tumwater, WA.

Media notes (PDF): Tumwater Kitsap Notes

Click to read larger size.

TUMWATER, WA

Lukas Rydberg and Derek Johnson each scored six goals for the Shock who went on an 11-0 run after the Pioneers scored the first goal of the game. Corey Johnson and Kevin Flavin each added a goal for the Pioneers.

The Shock move to 5-0-1 this season while the Pios drop to 0-5.

The Tumwater Pioneers continue their run of games at Tumwater Indoor Sports when they host the Kitsap Pumas on Saturday, January 26th. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Tickets are just $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Slakey/KMAS

TUMWATER, WA – Derek Johnson scored four goals and added three assists as the first place South Sound Shock blitzed the Tumwater Pioneers, 11-2, on Saturday night at Tumwater Indoor Sports.  Logan Smith scored his second goal of the season with five seconds remaining in the first half and Tom Arndt got on the board late in the fourth period for the Pioneers.

Johnson opened the scoring early in the first period and added another goal with a minute remaining in the first period. In between those two goals, Byron Conforti scored the first of three goals on the night and Chris Raymond added another and the Shock opened up a 4-0 lead after one period and would never look back.

Johnson scored another goal early in the second period followed by a Conforti strike at the 2:40 mark to put the Shock up 6-0. The Pioneers finally broke through Shock goalkeeper Aaron Anderson when Smith drove home a shot seconds before halftime. Anderson finished the night with 23 saves before exiting the game with five minutes remaining.

The Pioneers held the Shock to one Johnson goal in the third period but Brett Stallworth quickly opened the scoring in the fourth period and goals from Conforti and Jake Ambrozic gave the Shock a 10-1 lead before Arndt redirected a drive from Chris Pugh into the net for the Pioneers. Joshua Peters scored the final Shock goal with three minutes remaining to give South Sound the 11-2 victory.

South Sound moves to 4-0-1 this season and remain atop the PASL Northwest Division table. The Pioneers fall to 0-4 in their expansion season.

The Pioneers and Shock meet up again next Saturday, January 19th at Tumwater Indoor Sports. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Summary

 Tumwater Pioneers (0-4) vs. South Sound Shock (4-0-1)
 Date: 1/12/13 Location: Tumwater Indoor Sports

 Goals by period      1  2  3  4  Tot
 -------------------------------------
 South Sound..........4  2  1  4   11
 Tumwater............ 0  1  0  1    2

 SCORING:
 South Sound Shock
 Derek Johnson......4
 Byron Conforti.....3
 Chris Raymond......1
 Brett Stallworth...1
 Jake Ambrozic......1
 Joshua Peters......1

 Tumwater Pioneers:
 Logan Smith........1
 Tom Arndt..........1

The Pioneers took a big lead and battled valiantly in their home opener on Saturday night but fell to Marysville, 11-9, to fall to 0-3 this season. Flavin scored five goals in the game including four in the first half and a final goal in the fourth period that briefly gave the Pios a 9-8 lead. Kevin Creeley, George Bundy, Logan Smith and Matt Stalnik each added a goal in the loss.

In a rematch of a classic game from earlier this season that saw the Kitsap Pumas tie the game with just four seconds to play, the Shock took over first place with a 7-4 win and now sit at 3-0-1 this season. Lukas Rydberg and Taylor Jackson each scored twice and Aaron Anderson racked up 17 saves in goal. This is the Shock’s second game at Tumwater Indoor Sports this season. They opened the 2012-2013 campaign in Tumwater with a 9-6 win over the Oregon Blacktails.

Saturday’s game is the first of a two game series between the Pioneers and the Shock at Tumwater Indoor Sports. The Pios are the home team this weekend while the Shock will play hosts on January 19th.

Tickets for the South Sound showdown are just $5 for adults and $3 for children and seniors. The Rivers Edge/Budd Bay Cafe beer garden will be open to fans 21-and-over with ID and concessions will be provided by Tacos de Doña Mary. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 PM, doors open at 6:00.

Directions to Tumwater Indoor Sports from Olympia: From I-5 South – Take exit 101, Tumwater Boulevard, and turn left on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn right on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. From Capital Boulevard – Turn right on to Tumwater Boulevard. Turn left on to Center Street. Turn right on to 78th Avenue and left into the Tumwater Indoor Sports parking lot. The address for TIS is 7845 Center Street, Tumwater, WA.

Media notes (PDF): Tumwater South Sound Notes

Image courtesy of goalWA.net

The Tumwater Pioneers’ Kevin Flavin was named PASL Northwest Division Player of the Week today by Washington State soccer website goalWA.net. The Oak Harbor native and Evergreen State College star scored five goals in the Pios home opener loss to Marysville on Saturday night and now has seven goals in two games played this season.

“Kevin’s performance Saturday was fun to watch,” Pioneers’ player/head coach Matt Stalnik told David Falk in the goalWA.net article on Flavin. “There are some goals that Kevin has had this season, that as a coach you just shake your head because you know how much talent he has. I think there is more talent in him yet untapped.”

Flavin joins Marysville’s Josh Rudnick, Arlington’s Jeff Renslo and South Sound’s Nate Ford as goalWA.net players of the week this season. You can read the full text of the article here.

Kevin Flavin and the Tumwater Pioneers continue their run of four straight games at Tumwater Indoor Sports when they host the first place South Sound Shock on Saturday, January 12th at 7:00 PM.  Tickets are just $5 for adults and $3 for children and seniors.

Photos from the Tumwater Pioneers home opener on Saturday, January 5th. Thank you to Jeff Slakey of Newsradio 1030 AM KMAS for the pictures.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Slakey/KMAS

TUMWATER, WA – The Tumwater Pioneers took an 8-2 lead early in the third quarter but a furious rally the rest of the way for the Marysville Ruckus spoiled the Pioneers home opener as the Pios dropped an 11-9 heartbreaker in front of a packed house at Tumwater Indoor Sports on Saturday night.  Kevin Flavin scored five goals for the Pioneers while Victor Navarro scored three times for the Ruckus including the eventual game winner with less than four minutes to play.

The Pioneers started out red-hot in their long awaited home debut. Flavin started the scoring with just over a minute gone in the game. But Marysville answered back quickly when PASL Northwest Division scoring leader Josh Rudnik scored the first of his three goals on the evening, a shorthanded goal following a Ruckus blue card. Flavin rifled a shot home near the 7:00 minute mark to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead before Phil Buchan tied the game at two to finish off the first period.

Flavin picked up the hat trick early in the second period and the Pioneers were hitting on all cylinders for the next 15 minutes. Kevin Creeley, Matt Stalnik, George Bundy all scored goals and Flavin added another to give the Pioneers a 7-2 lead heading into the break.

Logan Smith got on the board for the Pioneers early in the third period to give them an 8-2 advantage but Marysville would come charging back scoring four straight goals and cutting the lead to 8-6 at the end of the third quarter. Casey Collins, Rudnick, Danny Graham and Navarro each scored a goal in the Ruckus onslaught.

Rudnick opened up the scoring in the fourth period to draw the Ruckus within a goal and Danny Graham tied the game up at eight with eight minutes to play. But Flavin was there again scoring his fifth goal of the game to put the Pioneers up 9-8 with just under seven minutes left. From there on out, it was all Marysville. Buchan tied the game at nine before Navarro scored the game winner with 3:42 remaining and iced it with an insurance goal to give the Ruckus an 11-9 victory over the Pioneers.

With the win, the Ruckus move to 2-2 in the PASL Northwest Division and are bunched up with five other teams all with six points.  The Pioneers fall to 0-3 on the season.

The Tumwater Pioneers will look to right the ship next weekend when they play host to the first place and undefeated South Sound Shock, who are coming off of  a 7-4 victory over the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton on Saturday night.  First kick at Tumwater Indoor Sports is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Summary

 Tumwater Pioneers (0-3) vs. Marysville Ruckus (2-2)
 Date: 1/5/13 Location: Tumwater Indoor Sports

 Goals by period      1  2  3  4  Tot
 -------------------------------------
 Marysville.......... 2  0  4  5  11
 Tumwater............ 2  5  1  1   9

 SCORING:
 Marysville Ruckus
 Victor Navarro....3
 Josh Rudnick......3
 Phil Buchan.......2
 Danny Graham......2
 Casey Collins.....1

 Tumwater Pioneers:
 Kevin Flavin......5
 Kevin Creeley.....1
 Matt Stalnik......1
 Logan Smith.......1
 George Bundy......1