by Owen Cameros
863 fans entered Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex on Sunday, eager to watch Junction FC play its first ever competitive match. And the players on the field gave the supporters a 90-minute treat.
Capital FC is a club with USL pedigree. While the Salem side struggled in 2023 CFC was back to back league champion in 2021 and 2022 losing just two games during the two years. And in Junction FC’s first ever game, the club competed with Capital the entire game.
Both Capital FC goals were followed by immediate Junction responses. Capital FC opened the scoring in the 20th minute turning a West Seattle corner kick into a counter attack. Capital forward Umechi Akuazaoku received the ball, who got past Joey Van Horn before finishing the ball into the side netting giving Jadon Bowton no chance in goal.
Junction FC showed the resolve of a seasoned club, however, making sure Capital could not build momentum on this goal. In the 34th minute, Jacen Stein got on the end of a long ball from Jack Maguire, got away from his defender down the left hand side of the box and finished the ball, beating Capital goalkeeper Diesel Fiore at the near post to score West Seattle’s first ever goal.
Coming out of halftime Junction FC made a few changes. In particular, Head Coach Erik Oman introduced Amherst center back Joseph Raymond to the match, which allowed Mani Diop to move further up the pitch. While Diop’s primary position is center back, he had spent time as a striker for the University of Washington, and tallied a goal and an assist playing up top in Junction’s scrimmage versus Cultures United.
And at the start of the second half, Junction FC’s choice to move Diop worked. Diop nearly provided Junction the lead early in the second half directing a low cross iinto the air before smashing the ball goalwards on a full volley. Unfortunately for Diop, the crossbar denied what would have been a goal of the year candidate from the Senegalese striker.
However, it was Capital FC who would break the second half deadlock. Fumiyah Shirashi picked up the ball on the left flank before cutting inside and letting a shot fly from the top of the box which nestled into the bottom right corner beyond the outstretched glove of Bowton.
But Diop and co. were not content to let CFC spoil Junctions inaugural match. With just ten minutes left in the match, West Seattle capitalized on a loose ball just outside the Capital box funneling it to Diop who’s spinning effort eluded Fiore.
West Seattle leveled the match up at two a piece and nearly took the lead on numerous occasions in the final minutes However, when the final whistle blew, Junction FC and Capital FC settled for a point each.
The players on the pitch gave the West Seattle faithful a lot of reasons to be excited about this season. The club has shown it can hang with the best of the Northwest division. But the players have also given Coach Oman and the rest of the Junction FC staff a lot to mull over.
With multiple new players joining the team for Friday’s game, including former Crystal Palace academy player Julian Kuhr, Junction FC may have too much of a good thing.
