Raphael Cox attacks the Victoria Highlander goal during a 2010 Tide home win. (Chris Coulter)
Tide 2010 recap links:
GOALTacoma.com 2010 Tide Museum Page
Soccer Examiner 2010 Tide season in review
by Devon Heinen
TacomaFC.com – Different. It’s how you can describe what happened on the sideline and in the locker room for the 2010 Tacoma Tide FC, different.
That difference proved to be the catalyst in transforming a below-.500 team (5-7-4) in 2009 into one that was eight points shy of returning to the playoffs.
Out was Greg Howes as the team’s coach and in his place was Gerry Gray, a member of The Soccer Hall of Fame who brought Tacoma 13 years of national-level soccer experience playing for Team Canada.
Gray brought an attacking philosophy to the Tide FC that resulted in a quarter of the team’s 2010 United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League matches reach at least four goals. One of those, a June 26 road contest against Yakima, saw Tacoma tally seven scores.
Leading the charge for the Tide FC (9-4-3) on the field was newcomer Chris Sanders. The forward, playing professional soccer for the first time in over a year due to a knee injury, lead the team in scoring with seven goals.
While Tacoma’s goal was to light up the scoreboard, Gray didn’t let the team’s defense go by the wayside. Returning Jordan Jennings in the net, Tacoma also brought in two new goalkeepers that helped the Tide FC record five shutouts and allow the fewest goals (20) in three years. Jennings’ efforts for the 2010 Tide FC parlayed into national exposure on ESPN2 when the 25-year-old Tacoma, Wash. Native took the field for the Seattle Sounders FC July 18 in a friendly against Celtic FC.
