Vancouver Victory-5 Snohomish Skyhawks-2
UPDATE: The WISL has awarded a 1-0 forfeit win to Snohomish because the Victory used an unregistered player during the match.
SNOHOMISH, WA— (V2FC match report) Vancouver Victory FC got two solid performances in goal from their ‘keepers and two braces (2 goals) from field performers to record their historic first win in the Western Indoor Soccer League on January 2 at the Snohomish Soccer Dome in a 5-2 win over the Snohomish Skyhawks.
The Victory battled through 4 blue cards that gave the homestanding Skyhawks power play opportunities. Arne Niermann held Snohomish to one goal in the first half before suffering a hand injury. This meant the WISL debut of teenage goalkeeper Zach Morris, who played well the rest of the way, surrendering just one goal as well.
Line-up: Vancouver wins first-ever WISL match.
The Victory got all the goals they would need on braces from Zak Naylor and Jerson Mejia. Samir Vejo scored the other V2FC goal.
“The boys came ready to play tonight,” said Vejo. “We played excellent defense and controlled long stretches of the match. We were a little shorthanded and were even more so after we lost Jared and Arne to injuries. But Zach Morris came in and stepped up big and helped us get our first win in WISL play.”
VIDEO: Zach Morris’ first save in WISL
The Victory lost their leading scorer Jared Brace to an unfortunate injury that required a trip to the hospital. Brace had an assist in the first half but a tackle-from-behind foul sent him to the hospital where it was revealed that he has a broken leg. It was a clean break of his fibula. Team owner Barrett Goddard accompanied Jared to the ER.
Orange blur: Zach Morris comes in for the Victory.
“I’m proud of the guys tonight,” Goddard said. “It’s always tough on the road but we played very well in the first half. I took Jared to the hospital but I’m told we played even better in the second half. We’ve played well our last two matches and just didn’t have the breaks go our way but tonight we have three points.”
The Victory have two weeks off before they play at the Tacoma Stars Reserves on January 16. The next home match comes when V2FC host Bellingham on Saturday, January 23 at 7 PM at Clark County Indoor Sports.
Goal Scorers: Snohomish Skyhawks- John Troka, Josh Peters. Vancouver Victory FC – Jerson Mejia (2), Zak Naylor (2), Samir Vejo.
