The Tacoma Stars (3-1) earned their first road win of the season with a 6-5 shootout victory over the Dallas Sidekicks (2-4) on Friday night at the Allen Event Center.
After falling behind 3-0 to open the match, the Stars rallied for a trio of goals to tie things up while goalkeeper Danny Waltman held the Sidekicks through the entire second and third quarter. The two club’s combined for three goals in the final quarter, sending the game to overtime tied at 5-5.
A scoreless extra period sent Tacoma to their first shootout since joining the Major Arena Soccer League last season. Stars forward Joey Gjertsen opened things up with a successful attempt, followed by a rebound goal from Dallas’ Ricardinho Cavalcante. Midfielder Micheal Ramos connected on his shot, and a pair of stops from Waltman sealed the win for Tacoma.
The Sidekicks opened the match scoring early and often, landing a trio of goals in the opening quarter while goalkeeper Juan Gamboa worked a shutout frame to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
Forward Dan Antoniuk got the Stars on the scoreboard with a goal just under three minutes into the second quarter on an assist from midfielder Derek Johnson. Megson checked in with a goal of his own just a couple minutes later to cut the Sidekicks lead to one before halftime.
Megson and Antoniuk bookended the third quarter with a pair of goals while Waltman fended off four shots for his second straight shutout period, pushing the Stars out in front, 4-3.
A goal from Ramos in the final quarter of regulation was bracketed by goals from Cameron Brown and Cody Ellis, all of which came within just over a minute of gameplay to produce the 5-5 deadlock that sent the match to overtime.
Over the course of regulation and overtime, Waltman and the Stars defense endured four Sidekicks power plays without surrendering a goal. Waltman finished the night with a season-high 17 saves on 22 shots.
Tacoma continues their road trip with a match against the St. Louis Ambush at 5:05 p.m. Saturday.
Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, group outings, family packs and suite offerings for the Tacoma Stars 2016-17 season are available now. To purchase, call 1-844-STARS-TIME or visit the Stars online at www.tacomastars.com.
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