I went to the Tumwater Pioneers home opener last night.  Below is the official press release from the team but I thought I’d tell you my thoughts on my first indoor soccer game.
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the Tumwater Indoor Sports arena but it was a nice building with a snack area and what I thought would be plenty of seats, turns out there wasn’t because it was packed!  The match started at 7 with Brandon Sparks (our new voice of the Shelton Highclimbers) out on the field with introductions and the national anthem.  The match started just after that and I was really intrigued with the walls, the nets, the size of the field and how small the goal nets are.  It’s a lot smaller than a regular soccer pitch but that means more scores and more action, and you can bounce off the walls.  Quickly Tumwater got on the board and both teams were off.  It’s a 4 quarter system instead of halves.  I would highly recommend this for a fun cheap night of entertainment ($5/Adults, $3/Kids), especially if you have soccer fans in your family.  There are more games this season and the players all have a quite high skill level.  I will tell you it was cold in there for the spectators but when I asked about this they said the players get really hot quickly out on the field.

TUMWATER PIONEERS ARENA SOCCER - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Brandon Sparks at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 360-561-7252

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Ruckus rally spoils Tumwater Pioneers home opener
TUMWATER, WA – The Tumwater Pioneers took an 8-2 lead early in the third quarter but a furious rally the rest of the way for the Marysville Ruckus spoiled the Pioneers home opener as the Pios dropped an 11-9 heartbreaker in front of a packed house at Tumwater Indoor Sports on Saturday night.  Kevin Flavin scored five goals for the Pioneers while Victor Navarro scored three times for the Ruckus including the eventual game winner with less than four minutes to play.
The Pioneers started out red-hot in their long awaited home debut. Flavin started the scoring with just over a minute gone in the game. But Marysville answered back quickly when PASL Northwest Division scoring leader Josh Rudnik scored the first of his three goals on the evening, a shorthanded goal following a Ruckus blue card. Flavin rifled a shot home near the 7:00 minute mark to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead before Phil Buchan tied the game at two to finish off the first period.
Flavin picked up the hat trick early in the second period and the Pioneers were hitting on all cylinders for the next 15 minutes. Kevin Creeley, Matt Stalnik, George Bundy all scored goals and Flavin added another to give the Pioneers a 7-2 lead heading into the break.
Logan Smith got on the board for the Pioneers early in the third period to give them an 8-2 advantage but Marysville would come charging back scoring four straight goals and cutting the lead to 8-6 at the end of the third quarter. Casey Collins, Rudnick, Danny Graham and Navarro each scored a goal in the Ruckus onslaught.
Rudnick opened up the scoring in the fourth period to draw the Ruckus within a goal and Danny Graham tied the game up at eight with eight minutes to play. But Flavin was there again scoring his fifth goal of the game to put the Pioneers up 9-8 with just under seven minutes left. From there on out, it was all Marysville. Buchan tied the game at nine before Navarro scored the game winner with 3:42 remaining and iced it with an insurance goal to give the Ruckus an 11-9 victory over the Pioneers.
With the win, the Ruckus move to 2-2 in the PASL Northwest Division and are bunched up with five other teams all with six points.  The Pioneers fall to 0-3 on the season.
The Tumwater Pioneers will look to right the ship next weekend when they play host to the first place and undefeated South Sound Shock, who are coming off of  a 7-4 victory over the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton on Saturday night.  First kick at Tumwater Indoor Sports is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Summary
Tumwater Pioneers (0-3) vs. Marysville Ruckus (2-2)
Date: 1/5/13 Location: Tumwater Indoor Sports
 
Goals by period      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Marysville.............2  0  4  5  11
Tumwater............ 2  5  1  1   9
 
SCORING:
Marysville Ruckus
Victor Navarro....3
Josh Rudnick......3
Phil Buchan.......2
Danny Graham......2
Casey Collins.....1
 
Tumwater Pioneers:
Kevin Flavin......5
Kevin Creeley.....1
Matt Stalnik......1
Logan Smith.......1
 George Bundy......1
 

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