Wednesday, June 20, 2012
EDMONDS, Wash. -- Quinton Beasley scored two goals but a late Washington Crossfire goal sent the North Sound SeaWolves to their third-straight loss, 3-2 on Wednesday night at Edmonds Stadium. The SeaWolves fell to to 3-6 in the Premier Development League Northwest Division. Washington is now 7-3-1, sitting in second place but tied with the division-leading Kitsap Pumas on 22 points.
Beasley, a University of Washington player, scored his second and third goals of the season, and nearly made it a hat trick in the 81st minute when his one-on-one shot was saved by Crossfire keeper Andy Holte. Instead, Washington’s Ben Fisk found the back of the net in the 89th minute to give the Crossfire the win.
"Washington just wanted it more than us and that’s why they’re in second place," SeaWolves coach Alex Silva said. "They played smarter, more clever and were more aggressive. Give them credit."
Beasley’s second goal in the 58th minute was a beauty as he whirled through two defenders and fired a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net to give the SeaWolves a 2-1 lead. But a season-long bugaboo caused the team to lose the advantage just four minutes later, when the defense failed to control a cross into the penalty area and the ball found a wide-open Connor Moe in front of an unprotected goal, and Moe tied it up easily.
"It’s the same thing for us every time," Silva said. "We’re giving them too much room to cross it. You see the Crossfire defense, they go in hard to win every ball, and we sit back and let the other team make a play. You have to want to attack and be physical."
The Crossfire, who swept the three-game series with the SeaWolves this season, took the lead in the eighth minute when Solly Gold controlled a loose ball in front of the net and beat keeper Claudio Lazar for a 1-0 lead. Lazar turned away two more tough shots to keep it close and in first-half stoppage time, a shot by Nasyir Rodriguez was deflected to Beasley who finished into an open net to make it even at the break.
"Beasley played a great match, Kevin Cook played well in the back but we just made too many mistakes," Silva said. "It’s unfortunate that it’s taking so long for our back line to come together."
The SeaWolves continue their four-match string of home games at 7:30 p.m. on Friday against the Victoria Highlanders at Edmonds Stadium.