Tukwila, WA – Following a successful regular season, the Defiance, were in trouble early into their first playoff match. The home side, presumable favorites, found themselves down after two goals in a ten-minute span. Things looked dire for Wade Webbers club. Late magic to force an overtime period, and a win in a penalty shootout push Tacoma on to the Western Conference Final.
Houston celebrates their second goal of the night (Photo by Melissa Levin)
Stubbornly defiant, the home side equalize late
Tacoma has overcome with deficits before, whether it be on the scoreboard or with injuries to their roster. The Defiance seemed like they wanted to stage an even greater comeback, not getting on the board until the 84th minute of the match. For all but six minutes left in their Western Conference quarter-final match, the Defiance seemed doomed. Marlon Vargas converted a critical penalty, and in the 94th minute Tacoma forced an own goal. In yet another ten-minute span, two goals had been scored. The Defiance had equalized.
Tacoma draws one of two penalties in regulation (Photo by Melissa Levin)
Penalty shootout dramatics as Tacoma advances
After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, the quarter final match shifted to penalty kicks. A little over four months ago, the Sounders had gone to penalties in their Open Cup round of 32 matchup against San Jose and lost. The Defiance found their clutch genes, converting all of their five penalties. Houston’s Paulo Lima’s bad day continued, following his own goal that had equalized the match for Tacoma. Lima slipped during his penalty kick, Dynamo2’s second, and missed. After Houston made their next penalty, it came down to former Washington Husky standout Achille Robin. Robin nailed his shot, sending the Defiance to the Western Conference Final.
Marlon Vargas scored Tacoma’s first goal of the night (Photo by Melissa Levin)
What’s next?
Following their thrilling comeback, the Defiance will travel to Ralph Korte stadium in Illinois to battle St Louis CITY2. Tacoma and St Louis, having battled most of the season for the top rank in the West, face off again for a chance to capture immortality. The two clubs split the head-to-head record this past regular season, with the most recent contest being a 5-1 win in favor of the Defiance. The two will battle in the Western Conference Final on Sunday, October 2nd with a 5:30PM PST kickoff.
Thank you to Melissa Levin for the photos used in this article! Thank you Mel!
You can check out Mels gallery here: https://prostamerika.com/2022/09/26/photo-gallery-tacoma-defiance-2-5-2-4-houston-dynamo-ii/265422/
