Lane United FC vs FC Olympia July 12th, 2024
Eugene, Or: The Reds came out sizzling against FC Olympia on Friday, July 12th. Lane United won the bout 3-2, not allowing any goals until the final five minutes of playtime. The Reds shot 13 times in the first 13 minutes, which didn’t slow down much for the rest of the match.
Tate Richards made sure to keep his teammates on the offensive, and encouraged the team to push the tempo and keep shooting. This lead to a beautiful strike by #46, Milo Wray in the 25th minute, who shot from over 30 yards away into the top corner of the goal to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
After gaining the lead, the team started to get a little over excited, making errant passes and unnecessary turnovers, they came together after Oly Town was called for a penalty in the goalie’s box. After a great save by their keeper, #25 Weston Joyner, the Reds got a corner kick, allowing Player of the Match, #8, Ethan Doud, to score off a deflection to give us a two score lead going into the 41st minute.
In the final minutes of the half, Lane played lockdown defense, forcing turnovers, and keeping the ball on their side of the field. As time was running down, a shove goes uncalled by the referee, leading to a great shot on goal by FC Olympia, before Lane United’s own goalkeeper Will Ficek makes an incredible diving save to hold them pointless in the first half.
Going into the second half, coach Galas told the team to be ready to win this game in the next 15 minutes of play. He expects them to continue shooting good, strong, shots on goal. If they can push the lead to 3-0, Galas tells them they’re winning this game.
While they weren’t able to score in the initial 20 minutes of the second half, both teams battled defensively. Olympia came out with better passes than the first half, making quick plays and pushing down the field, and after multiple shots, only two were on goal and easily stopped by Ficek.
Going into the 76th minute, Lane has turned the table. #11 Ede Gramberg drove to the top of the box, and sent one to the corner of the goal before Oly Town makes a ridiculous save, followed by a second attempt by #23 Scott Gustaphson whose header is blocked away leading to a corner kick.
With less than 10 minutes of play time, Lane established they weren’t letting up anytime soon. Keeping the ball mostly on Oly Town’s side up to this point, #17 Yoshiki Igarashi, gets the ball passed to him and makes an incredible header shot into the goal, before the line judge called offsides. This call caused an eruption from the fans in attendance and the Red’s whole sideline (visit @LaneUnitedFC on Instagram to see the shot).
Minutes later, the Red’s #2 Charlie Lacey scored on a penalty kick in the 87th minute to bring the lead to 3-0. The final 8 minutes of playtime and extra play, Lane allowed two goals. The last being a short boot that barely missed Ficek’s hand. Ficek played an outstanding game, getting multiple deflections and motivating his team to a 3-2 win against FC Olympia.