The Tacoma Stars turned in their best offensive performance of the season in a 9-8 Major Arena Soccer League victory over the visiting Ontario Fury on Saturday night at the ShoWare Center.
The Stars improved to 5-3 on the season.
The Stars offense logged a season-high nine goals and was led by braces from forward Dan Antoniuk, defender Evan McNeley and midfielder Micheal Ramos. All three also contributed one assist for a total of nine points between them. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman threw down 13 saves on 21 shots in his 60 minutes in goal.
The match was a back-and-forth affair, with the two club’s combining for four ties and five lead changes. Ramos’ goal with just under two minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter put the Stars on top for good.
Ontario (2-3) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter behind goals from Leonardo De Oliveira and Tiguinho Dias before Antoniuk closed out the frame with the Stars’ first goal of the night.
Another pair of goals to open the second quarter of play extended the Fury lead to 4-1. However, an onslaught of three Tacoma goals from Antoniuk, McNeley, and midfielder Jamael Cox sent the two clubs into halftime all knotted up at 4-4.
Ramos scored his first goal of the night just 33 seconds into the second half to put the Stars ahead, 5-4. What followed was a trio of goals from Ontario that spanned into early in the fourth quarter, giving the visitors a 7-5 edge.
Tacoma would go on to out-score the Fury by a 4-1 margin in the final quarter, including a power play goal from midfielder Joey Gjertsen, to create the final winning margin of 9-8. Ontario tied the match in the final minutes at 8-8 with a goal from Nick Perera before Ramos connected on the decisive score. Ramos’ game winner was the second of his career against the Fury.
The Stars remain at home for one more match against the San Diego Sockers on Sunday, Dec. 18 before taking an extended holiday break in play. The match against the Sockers is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, group outings, family packs and suite offerings for the Stars’ 2016-17 season are available. To purchase, call 1-844-STARS-TIME or visit the Stars online at www.tacomastars.com.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
