9-man Lane United gutted out a gory 1-1 draw against the Washington Crossfire in front of a midday crowd of around 400 at Willamalane Sports Complex in Springfield. United conceded an early goal off of a throw-in in the 5th minute with the Crossfire capitalizing on a wild rebound. Things got worse in approximately the 30th minute when centerback Brenden Anderson got his second yellow card on a tangle near the edge of the box. Head Coach John Galas compensated for the loss of the strong center half by substituting Tyler Stelter for the Brazilian forward Chico Sastre. After a close chance by German midfielder Martin Lukashick that rang off the post, the Reds, down 1-0 and down to 10 men, had an uphill battle to try to salvage something in front of the home crowd.

During the second half, Lane United played tough and weathered the storm from the Crossfire. Oregon State University goalkeeper Matt Bersano stood tall and handled several dangerous chances. As the rain broke, a beam of sunlight shone on the home side as a Josep “Baldo” Ribes, the Spaniard, won a penalty kick after a tackle in the corner of the box. Khiry Shelton, the Reds’ target forward, equalized off of United’s first regulation penalty kick and placed the ball beautifully into the bottom corner of the net. It was back and forth for the rest of the game, with some beautiful chances by Reds forward (and Junction City native) Rolando Velazquez. A late battle near the Lane United corner flag between LUFC Centerback Alarcon and Crossfire goalscorer Poplawaski lead to a mass confrontation and the ejection of the Reds’ centerback after a thrown arm. Lane United, down both of its starting center halves, made do by dropping the big forward Shelton back to the backline. The game ended 1-1 with 9-man United limping off.

This game represented a few “firsts” for LUFC. The club was given its first (and second..) red cards, testing John Galas’ depth and tactical know-how. The club also was awarded its first penalty kick, which it converted with style. I overheard the Crossfire coach insinuating during halftime that this roadtrip from Kirkland to Eugene was a wasted trip that they fully intended to take three points from. The mother of the red-carded centerback Brenden Anderson came over to the Red Aces section and told us “We’ve got to win this – those guys think we’re pushovers – so drum louder!” The sense of entitlement from the Crossfire bench coupled with the gory game is likely to lead to a bitter rivalry between Lane United and the Crossfire in the away fixture (June 18th) and in coming seasons.

The red smoke that wafted directly over the Crossfire bench after the equalizing penalty kick drove home the fact that United is not a club to be looked down upon. We may be new, but we’re not ‘lesser opposition’ and need to be taken seriously by older, pedigreed teams in the league. A glance at the table highlights this fact. LUFC is currently 2nd in the division with 4 points after two games. Victoria Highlanders currently control the Goals-For tiebreaker for the division lead.

Time will tell how the coaching staff will respond to recent hardships. Galas & Co. will likely make changes to the starting XI for the next game with several new players arriving this week. With both starting centerbacks on one-game suspensions after their red cards, now is the chance for our local talent to step up to the challenge and compete for starting spots for the rest of the season. Locals Edgar Gomez and Rolando Velazquez have already impressed on the pitch and I’m looking forward to seeing more of midfielder Daley Stevens and centerback Luke Connolly on the pitch. The Reds have a break until May 31st when they take on the Puget Sound Gunners at home. Until then, the Reds go marching on.