Early on in the first half of the Arlington soccer match with the Cascade Bruins a nasty challenge from a Bruin defender who clipped Arlingtons John Tilton.
Tiltons knee buckled as the Bruin crashed into him, spikes up. The challenge shifted the tone of the game from competitive to vicious as both teams felt slighted by the referee. Tilton needed medical assistance and could not continue. The offending Cascade player received only a paltry yellow card, earning the disdain of the vocal fans in attendance.
The early portion of the half was dominated by Arlington goalkeeper Keith Bayer who kept out the onslaught of shot attempts from Cascade. The Bruins were especially dangerous from the sideline, where several well placed throw-ins found holes in the Arlington defense and produced chances up front. Fortunately for the Eagles, Cascade struggled to finish around the net, and Bayer continually staved off the pressure.
After 25 minutes of level score, Cascade broke through with a dubiously onside goal. The goal resulted after a long cross found two offensive players in front of Bayer. The first Bruin forward flicked the ball on to a second forward, probably in an offsides position. The linesman raised his flag to signal the infraction but was waived off by the referee, who deemed the play legal.
Arlingtons best chance of the first half came six minutes before halftime. After some excellent one touch passing in the midfield, A.J. Chase hit a rocket toward the Cascade net that sailed over the bar by a few feet.
Keith Bayers heroics in the Arlington net again managed to keep the score close as Cascade brought a lot of pressure right up to the half-time whistle. Bayer punched one ball around the goal post and made a diving save to keep the score at 1-0.
The second half opened terribly for Arlington, as Cascade was awarded a penalty kick after a blatant dive in the box by their left forward. As the Arlington defense challenged the Cascade player for the ball on the left wing, he flopped down like a dying fish, acting out the call for the referee. Sadly for Arlington, the official decided that the flop merited a foul call and Bayer was helpless to stop the ensuing penalty shot. The second goal for Cascade deflated the Eagles hopes. Adding to their misery, a long through ball found a streaking forward for Cascade just minutes later to make the score 3-0, a comfortable margin for the visitors.
Arlington battled valiently in the remaining time, and as they pushed more players forward, began to put more pressure on the Cascade defense. After 72 minutes, their hard work was rewarded as Juan Guadarrama struck a bending ball from the corner of the penalty box, beating the Cascade keeper. His goal further emboldened Arlingtons team as they continued to rally. With Cascade back on their heels, Arlington put three forwards into the attack. In the 78th minute a Skyler Furrer header missed barely over the bar, Arlingtons last chance of the match. As the seconds ticked away, both teams vented their frustration through some tough sliding challenges. The referee tried to quell the rough play by issuing yet another yellow card, but at that point, the frustration level on both sides had reached a boiling point. The final whistle came and coach Mike Gudgeon looked impetuously at the referee as the faulty decision making of the game official hurt Arlington all evening.
The team plays again April 13 against Oak Harbor.