The Highline men’s soccer team beat Tacoma, keeping their first place standing in the NWAC West.

On Wednesday, the Thunderbirds triumphed over the Tacoma Titans, 2-0.

The men’s soccer team had a total of 15 shots on goal compared to Tacoma’s 6. 

“It was a scrappy game, but we put two goals in the back of the net and both were good,” said Highline center back Kody Carmel.

Both teams played extra physically with two yellow cards a piece and an additional red card for the Thunderbirds.

Ryo Takeuchi clinched the first goal for Highline in the 62nd minute. Diego Madrigal scored the second goal for Highline just 9 minutes after Takeuchi’s, during the 71st minute of the match. 

“It was kind of hard throughout the end, but we managed well. We did what we were supposed to do and kept a clean sheet,” said Highline’s Madrigal.

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds hit the road to face Whatcom for a non-conference game. Highline fell short with a final score of 5-2.

“We started fast and had a bunch of goal-scoring opportunities. We didn’t play terribly, we just  got caught twice in a six versus four. I definitely think it was a winnable game,” said Carmel.

The match had a balanced amount of shots on goal. The T-Birds had six in the first and second half, whereas Whatcom had five and six respectively. 

The Orcas outscored Highline throughout. In the first, the Orcas netted three goals to Highline’s one. The second panned out in a similar fashion with two goals from Whatcom to Highline’s one.

“That was unexpected. Driving for two hours really kills you, but that was still unexpected. We shouldn’t have lost the way we did,” said Madrigal.

This week, the team hosted Pierce at Starfire Field on Wednesday, with results unavailable at press time. 

On Saturday, October 15, the T-Birds face Tacoma once again with time and location TBA.