Tom Kemennu, Jordan Zimmerman and the Evergreen defense notched another shutout.
Geoducks Get Fourth Shutout to Beat Carroll
OLYMPIA – Jake Zimmerman scored the only goal of the match on a looping 40-yard free kick as The Evergreen State College remained unbeaten in Cascade Collegiate Conference men's soccer action with a 1-0 win over the visiting Carroll Saints on Friday afternoon at Geoduck Pitch.
The shutout was the fourth in eight conference matches for the Geoducks (6-0-3 overall, 5-0-3 CCC), who moved back into a tie atop the conference standings with defending champion Rocky Mountain. Carroll (6-7-0, 4-4-0), meanwhile, dropped one notch to eighth in the table.
The match was played for long stretches in the rain and the wind, and the waterlogged grass didn't hold up well with the men's match following a double overtime contest between the Evergreen and Carroll women. Large chunks of grass were ripped up and players from both sides did well to overcome the sloppy field conditions.
While the first half featured fairly equal possession between the two sides, Carroll enjoyed a 6-3 advantage in shots. The Saints' best opportunity came with about eight minutes left in the period following one of the team's three first half corner kicks. The Geoducks defense cleared the ball but only as far as Zach Walder, who was waiting about five yards outside the top of the box. His goal-bound drive through a mass of teammates and Evergreen defenders was palmed away by sprawling Geoducks keeper Ben Stevenson.
Zimmerman's goal-scoring heroics came a little more than four minutes into the second half. Following a foul in front of the Carroll bench, the junior midfielder hit a left-footed free kick toward the goal in an attempt to find a teammate's head. Instead, the ball carried over Carroll keeper Bernhardt Di Cino and into the goal. Zimmerman was surprised at his good fortune, and the Geoducks were happy to take a 1-0 lead.
As it turned out, that would be the game's only goal, though Evergreen put increasing pressure on Carroll throughout the second half. In fact, the Geoducks took 10 shots in the final period to just three for Carroll. The Saints' final effort by Dylan Allan came inside the final 10 seconds but Stevenson was there to first stop it, and then pounce on the ball when it rolled a couple of yards away.
Final shot totals showed Evergreen with 13 and Carroll with nine, and the Geoducks also managed a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
Evergreen's Stevenson and Carroll's Di Cino were both called on to make four saves, Stevenson getting two in each half and Di Cino getting all of his in the final 45 minutes.
The Geoducks are scheduled to play a home match at 3 p.m. Saturday against Great Falls, but officials will determine if any of the Evergreen athletic fields are in game condition following heavy rainfall in the Olympia area.