by Owen Cameros
West Seattle continued their home stretch this past weekend playing the remaining two teams from Oregon, as Lane United and United PDX came to town. First, on Friday, Junction FC faced off against Lane, who were fresh off spoiling Midlakes United’s inaugural match, beating the Belleview club 3-1.
A number of West Seattle players made their first ever starts, including Jafaar Mustafa, who in the 13th minute picked Lane United midfielder Tate Richards’ pocket and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, giving Junction the early lead.
Mustafa, along with Leon Tezuka and Will Maschmedt continued to wreak havoc on the Lane backline throughout the first half. But going into the break, the Eugene club remained just a goal behind West Seattle.
And in the second half, Lane United found their footing, and it was Junction FC’s turn to defend furiously.
For a moment early in the second half, Lane United looked to have been gifted a lifetime as Mani Diop bundled over Yoshigi Igarashi in the box. However, referee Devon Dieckman elected to keep his whistle away from his lips and awarded a corner kick instead. Lane coaching staff did not have time to voice their complaints as moments later an attempted cross seemingly bounced off the arm of Michael Divano and once again the referee did not blow his whistle.
The second half was nervy, but showed Junction FC’s resolve. The team defended with all 11 players the entire second half and made sure that Lane’s chances were few and far between. On the rare occasion Lane United mustered a chance, Lucas Martin came up clutch with multiple big saves, earning himself man of the match.
When the referee finally blew for full time, you could see the emotion on the players who ran to congratulate each other before making their way over to thank the fans and sign autographs.
After the win, Junction FC was treated to a celebratory cake from owner Jessica Pierce who has vowed to continue the tradition after each victory.
On Sunday, Junction FC played United PDX, with this being the Portland club’s first match of their 2024 USL 2 campaign.
Friday’s fatigue certainly played into the first half of Sunday’s match, PDX took the match to Junction who sported a bend don’t break style of defense. Head Coach Erik Oman’s halftime team talk certainly seemed to change the mentality of West Seattle. In the second half, the team pounced on the first opportunity they got with Michael Divano scoring in the 47th minute after sitting his defender down and slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.
But just two minutes later Loic Baures equalized for Portland courtesy of a free kick which he placed just inside the left post from 25 yards out. Despite both teams having chances later on, the match would remain even until the final whistle. For Junction FC, the club finished the opening home stand undefeated, but with a bit of a sour taste in its mouth.
Junction’s draw with Capital FC felt like a win, Sunday’s draw with United PDX felt like a loss. While the match may not have gone in Junction FC’s favor, the reaction to the result shows the high expectations the players have put on themselves. The team understands that the USL 2 is a difficult league, the Northwest division even more so. A few dropped points could mean the difference between playoff success and a season to forget.
