Hounds draw 2-2 with Sammamish
On March 8, 2024 the Pullman Greyhounds traveled to Bellevue to play Sammamish High School for their first game of the year. Historically, the Redhawks have been quite the 2A powerhouse, tallying up a couple long state runs in recent years. The Hounds on the other hand rebound off of their 4th place state finish last year, and look to go back.
The game started quickly, as scoring opened almost immediately in the 4th minute as the Redhawks played a long ball to their forward, who muscled his way through the Hounds defense, until Sophomore center back Nicholas Neville accidentally clipped him from behind. The refs called a penalty, and senior captain Isaias Solares-Xonas converted. The Hounds pushed back relentlessly with high press, by command of head coach Doug Winchell. It paid off; junior Clarens Dollins cut in from the top of the box, slotting a left-footed shot into the lower left corner. Redhawks keeper Gage Lambert stood no chance, and the Hounds celebrated their comeback. Their glee was short, however, as the Redhawks earned a corner off of a miscommunication between senior center back Benjamin Campbell and Aaron Oatley. The corner was flighted in, and seemingly bounced around before falling into the net. Before finishing out the half, the Hounds demonstrated their tenacity once again with high press and calm play in the back.
The second half started much like the first, as scoring opened almost immediately. Junior Clarens Dollin took the ball down the left flank until reaching the endline, where he dropped the ball to Junior Marcelo Romero who tapped it in. The Hounds had once again tied the game, but work still needed to be done. As the clock ticked down, tensions rose as the Hounds continued to press the Redhawks defense. To the great disappointment of Hounds coach Doug Winchell, it had been made clear that there would be no overtime prior to the match. Thus, the match resulted in a 2-2 draw.
Statistics
Shots — Pullman 9, Sammamish 3. Saves — Pullman, Oatley 1, Sammamish, Lambert 5.
Scoring
First half –1, Sam, Solares-Xona (PK) 4:00. 2, Pul, Dollins 17:00. 3, Sam, Macias-Ontiveros (Merzado-Pelaez) 37:00.
Second half — 4, Pul, Romero (Dollins) 43:00
