The Tacoma Stars of 2016-17 are off to a strong start. They beat the Soles de Sonora in the opener in front of a crowd of 2,871. Soles de Sonora finished second in ‘15-16. This season the Stars are looking at doing more than just challenging for a title, but to increase their connections to Tacoma, the South Sound and a glorious 1980s nostalgia. It is Tacoma’s second full season as a pro indoor soccer team in the modern MASL.
Review: 8-4 win in home opener
With time winding down, all hopes of a Soles comeback were dashed as Tacoma went on a power play thanks to a tripping call on Diego Hernandez at 4:49. The man advantage led to the second goal of the night by "Juice" with 3:01 left to play.
The final nail in the coffin was delivered at 1:16 by Seattle native, Vincent McCluskey when he beat the Soles goalkeeper to a loose ball and blasted it into the net for his first on the year.
The 8-4 victory for the Stars marks a great beginning to their campaign, and many thanks go to Stars goalkeeper Danny Waltman who notched seven saves against eleven shots on the day. Jamael Cox and Derek Johnson both scored two goals for Tacoma. Daniel Lopez put two in for the Soles.
Preview: November 4th at Turlock, next home game Nov. 12th v Fury
The Stars look forward to their next game on the road versus the Turlock Express (0-1) on November 4th. This should be a fruitful and exciting matchup for the strong Tacoma attack. Sounders FC academy product, Troy Peterson, will look to make a big impact and notch his first goal of the year.
However, the Stars will be lacking head coach, Darren Sawatzky, who will be away coaching the Guam Men’s National team in the East Asian Cup. Sawatzky, who was hired by Guam in the offseason, will be making his international coaching debut versus Hong Kong on Nov. 6. Filling in for Sawatzky will be former Tacoma Stars player Dick McCormick.
The Stars return to the Showare Center in Kent on November 12th to face the Ontario Fury, whom the Stars eliminated from playoff contention in their final regular season game last season.