The Tacoma Tide are in a tight race for Northwest Division supremacy. Before Saturday night, the Tide had 8 points from 5 games and were within striking distance of the top NW spot. The back to back games in Canada resembled important points as the season nears the midway point.

In soccer, there are many types of results. Even a tie can be dissected and categorized into numerous different forms. There is such a thing as a good tie or a bad tie. The Tide's 1-1 draw against Vancouver on Saturday night would be nearer to the latter. Tacoma had a great chance for 3 points and walked away with just 1.

General Manager and assistant coach, Mike Jennings, said the game was, “Another one of those games we feel we should have gotten more points than we came away with.” The comment can be best understood when the story of the match is told. The Tide went down early. The Whitecaps played a good first half hour and pressured the Tide well. The high intensity resulted in a 20th minute goal for the home team. However, the 2nd half was an entirely different story. The Tide came roaring back with a nice goal from Coach/player, Greg Howes. The former pro cut the ball back nicely and converted on a Leighton O'Brien assist.

The Tide momentum was added to when O'Brien's tussle with Vancouver's Alex Semenets resulted in an elbow from Semenets. The Whitecap was given a red card for the elbow and the Tide found themselves with a great opportunity for the win. With 23 minutes remaining in the match, there was plenty of time for the Tide to make good on their advantage. However, despite 2 clear cut one-on-one opportunities, the Tide were unable to score the go-ahead goal and so they shared the points with Vancouver.

The draw gives the Tide a 2-1-3 record for 9 points. Vancouver has only played 4 games, and they have 5 points. CLICK HERE for full standings. The Tide return to the pitch Sunday afternoon at 5pm in Victoria vs the Victoria Highlanders. The newcomers to the PDL have 6 points from 6 games.

For Saturday's match stats, CLICK HERE