By Ben Larson
Saturday night’s match against United PDX saw Junction FC trade the sights and sounds of Seattle for the bustling commotion of downtown Portland, Oregon. Lincoln High School was the site for the second matchup between these two clubs, having previously drawn 1-1 earlier in the season. Amidst the rain, and despite the strong traveling supporters, West Seattle Junction FC fell short in their last away game of the season, losing 4-0.
PDX started off on the front foot, with chances coming their way within the first few minutes. Things would get worse for Junction FC, as defender Jake Larson would have to be taken out of the game with a head injury in just the 6th minute following a challenge from PDX forward Drew Pedersen, which saw Pedersen receive the first yellow card of the evening. Tensions were clearly high following that moment early in the game, with tempers flaring again in the 22nd minute following a challenge from forward Jacen Stein on PDX’s goalkeeper, Rowan Schnebly, which ended up seeing both players carded following Schnebly’s aggressive response to the tackle. Junction FC were on the backfoot for most of the first half and were able withstand PDX’s attacking onslaught temporarily, until PDX eventually broke the deadlock in the 35th minute with a goal from midfielder Connor Evans after being awarded a penalty kick.
Junction FC were able to make it into the halftime interval with just the one-goal deficit, but unfortunately for them PDX wasn’t done for the night. In the 52nd minute, forward Jackson Finn got on the end of a cross from Anthony Godinez and slotted it past goalkeeper Lucas Martin to double PDX’s lead. Junction FC did all they could but found it difficult to break down PDX when they got chances to attack. The game became stretched, with both teams looking to go forward, and PDX took advantage of that opportunity. Defender Damoni McKenna saw his pass intercepted by PDX’s Godinez, who started a counter attack of their own which ended with Finn grabbing his second of the night. Just eight minutes later, PDX put the game away for good, scoring their fourth of the night through Jamin Gogo Peters. Junction FC’s forwards Jacen Stein & Marcos Bravo found it difficult to find a breakthrough of their own, despite entering the game on the back of some impressive individual performances.
Junction FC will have the chance to avenge this loss on Sunday, July 7th in their rematch against FC Olympia. This will be their first of three home matches to close out their inaugural season. Tickets starting at just $10 can be purchased online.
