The Tacoma Defiance moved into first place of the Western Conference after scoring a 2-1, come-from-behind win over Ventura County on Friday. Yu Tsukanome added two more goals, giving him seven in league play.
Highlights
Key players
Yu Tsukanome: The Japanese forward just can’t stop scoring. Tsukanome’s first came off a bit of a scramble that he squeezed inside the near post. The second one was a picture-perfect header off a corner. He could have probably had another if not for some quality goalkeeping.
Edson Carli: The Academy player hadn’t made a Defiance appearance for three weeks while playing in GA Cup. Carli picked up two assists. The first was possibly an accidental touch, but the second was a wonderful corner kick that set up Tsukanome for a relatively easy finish. He also completed 13 of 14 passes after coming in at halftime.
Peter Kingston: The former Seattle U, UW and Ballard FC midfielder continues to grow into a new role as a deeper-lying midfielder. Kingston completed 42 of 47 passes, while also winning 6 of 8 duels.
Stats
MATCH SUMMARY
Tacoma Defiance 2 – Ventura County FC 1
Friday, May 2, 2025
Venue: William Rolland Stadium
Referee: Jay Schlesinger
Assistants: Ryan Jung, Conrado Garcia
Fourth Official: Gabriele Ciampi
Weather: 75 degrees and sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
VCFC – Harbor Miller (Nicklaus Sullivan) 27’
TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Edson Carli) 46’
TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Edson Carli) 58’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
VCFC – Harbor Miller (caution) 12’
LINEUPS & STATS
Tacoma Defiance – Lars Helleren; Cody Baker, Stuart Hawkins, Kaito Yamada, Elias Katsaros (Antino Lopez 46’); Peter Kingston, Snyder Brunell – captain; Sebastian Gomez (Danny Robles 86’), Rafferty Pedder (Edson Carli 46’), Travian Sousa; Yu Tsukanome (Jackson Khoury 65’)
Substitutes not used: Mo Shour, Charles Dodzi, Joonmo Kang
Total shots: 21
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 6
Offside: 5
Corner-kicks: 6
Saves: 2
Ventura County FC – Brady Scott; Harbor Miller, Jose Luis Magana, Jr., Christopher Rindov, Riley Dalgado (Max Middleby 63’); Thomas Musto, Jeorgio Kocevski (Garcia Vicente 88’), Dylan Vanney (Sean Karani 75’); Nicklaus Sullivan, Rubén Ramos, Jr., Luis Müller (Nader Jindaoui 75’)
Substitutes not used: Levon Saribekyan, Enrique Martinez, Ethan Loomis, Gabriel Arnold, Owen Pratt
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 9
Offside: 4
Corner-kicks: 11
Saves: 4
