Due to injuries and other obligations, the Tacoma Tide had a severly shortened roster for their battle against the Spokane Spiders. The character and fitness of each player was tested Thursday evening. The Tacoma Tide passed the test with flying colors. Things started well for the Tide as defender Scott Hand headed home the first goal of the game. On a corner kick, Hand came up from the back and Ciaran O’Brien put it right onto his head for the goal. Things shifted, however, when a penalty kick gave Spokane the equalizer mid-way through the first half.

Spokane kept up the pressure and took the lead into halftime. With a 2-1 defecit, and tired legs in the Spokane heat, things were not shaping up to be easy. The Tide defense and goal keeper Jordan Jennings stopped attack after attack until Chase Tangney and Beau Macaluso linked up for a nice goal. Tangney took the ball from half field before sliding it over to Macaluso who still had work to do. A quick touch and a shot tied things up at 2-2. Just when it looked like a point a piece would be the result, Macaluso pounced on a through ball and drew a foul in the box. O’Brien drilled the shot into the corner and Tide survival took the shape of a 3-2 win.

The Tide travel to Abbotsford for the final regular season game on Saturday night. The playoffs begin on July 27th. The Tide opponent is TBD.