The Vancouver Victory salvaged a point Sunday afternoon thanks to an 87th minute equalizer from Aaron Kinnes against the Seattle Stars at McKenzie Stadium.
It was the second game of the “Battle Against Seattle” double-header at Evergreen High School with the U-23 squads of the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders serving as the opening act.
The Victory have had a wondrous season so far, losing just one game coming into Sunday’s match but lost their most recent match, a 1-0 loss June 13 to Wenatchee.
But it took a 35th minute penalty kick threat and a 69th minute goal from the Stars to get their game back in gear and salvage a result in the Evergreen Premier League match.
Niermann, who saved the Stars’ penalty and subsequent rebound shot, said it was tough for the team to get back to playing the type of soccer that resulted in seven consecutive victories to start the season.
“We’ve had a tough couple of weeks,” Niermann said. “It’s always tough to come back after a loss, but our last week at practice was overall better. In the second half, we did a better job overall — and in the last 10 minutes, we played like we always do.”
The Victory finally brought the game to the Stars, who had controlled the game for the previous 80 minutes.
Seattle’s Anderson Dias scored the game’s first goal on a clever chip to himself over Niermann.
“It was a little bit too late, but it was good to get a tie at least out of it,” Niermann said. “Overall, 1-1 was good for us.”
The Victory’s next game is against the Spokane Shadow at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas on June 27.
VANCOUVER VICTORY FC 1, SEATTLE STARS FC 1
Vancouver Victory
Goals (assists): Aaron Kinnes. Goalkeeper Saves: Arne Niermann 9
Seattle Stars
Goals (assists): Anderson Dias. Goalkeeper Saves: Scott Barnum 6
