Clipper Men’s Soccer Heads to Bellevue Looking to Even Season Series

By Grant Clark at Thurston Talk

The South Puget Sound Community College men's soccer team will travel to Bellevue College to face the Bulldogs in a Northwest Athletic Conference West Region match-up on Wednesday, October 20. The contest will start 4:15 p.m. with live stats provided on the SPSCC athletics website.

The Clippers (1-9-1 overall, 1-8 conference) will look to even the season series against Bellevue, which won the first match, 5-2, at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey on October 2.

Yuta Shimazu and Amri Mwenyeheri both scored unassisted goals for South Puget Sound Community College during the first match between the two teams. Shimazu's tally in the 22nd minute cut the Clippers' deficit in half at 2-1, while Mwenyeheri's goal capped the scoring in the 78th minute.

Bellevue (4-4-2, 3-4-2) outshot the Clippers, 16-10, and held a commanding 8-2 advantage in corner kicks en route to the road victory.

Prior to the earlier season setback, South Puget Sound Community College had won four out of the last six matches in the series, including a 5-4 triumph at Bellevue to close out the 2019 regular season. Four current members of the Clippers' roster, Dakota Seddon, Saloum Malang, Safwan Smael and Trey Lopes, were all part of South Puget Sound Community College's win two seasons ago as freshmen with Seddon, a Tumwater High School graduate, helping the Clippers register a season-high five goals with a goal and Smael, a North Thurston graduate, adding an assist.

South Puget Sound swept the season series against the Bulldogs in 2018, winning 3-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.

The Clippers are paced on offense this season by Francisco Ojeda, a sophomore from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Shimazu, a freshman from Sanda City, Japan, with both forwards scoring three goals. South Puget Sound has also received two goals from Mwenyeheri this season and a goal each from Lopes, Malang, Seddon and Eric Stephens, a River Ridge graduate.

Clippers' goalkeeper Christian Morell, who made two saves during the first meeting against Bellevue, ranks second overall in the NWAC with 67 saves and is first in games played and games started with 11.

South Puget Sound was scheduled to play at Pierce College on October 16 but won by forfeit after the Raiders were forced to cancel the contest due to COVID-19. The Clippers won the first meeting against Pierce, 3-1, on September 29.

Full Article Here: https://www.thurstontalk.com/2021/10/18/south-puget-sound-community-college-mens-soccer-heads-to-bellevue-looking-to-even-season-series/