Week 6 was a week of ups and downs for the Clipper Men's Soccer team. In the first match of the week, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) lost 2-1 against Tacoma Community College (TCC) last Wednesday at home. A converted penalty by freshman midfielder Alex Canning in the 59th minute would tie the game at one before Tacoma would find the back of the net for a second time late in the match to separate from the host Clippers.

"This game was circled on the calendar as a game we wanted most, but my hat is off to coach Jason and TCC for getting behind our lines and finishing their chances. Losing games where you generate more shots is frustrating, but familiar for us this year. We will now be on a thin margin of error if we want to make the [postseason] tournament, and we will aim to beat them when we drive north to play Tacoma [away] in two weeks," said Head Coach Max Sampson.

In the second match of the week, the Clips earned a shutout victory over Pierce College Saturday at home. The Clippers opened the scoring account early in the game with a decisive finish from striker Muhammad Diallo in the fourth minute. The boys managed to score again with Alejandro De La Rosa flicking the ball beyond the Pierce goalkeeper in the 51st minute to put a stamp on the match. The Clippers generated scoring opportunities throughout, and had consistent possession and control.

"My favorite moments are the moments in games that you can tell come directly from practice. The types of chances we created from incision passes from the wide areas, and the timing of the runs into the opponents' box was wonderful. We will need to keep this rhythm to achieve what we hope to achieve. There have been points this year where I felt we played enough soccer to win, but we would tie or lose. Today, the lads were rewarded for playing the style we agreed upon," said Sampson.

SPSCC will host Clark College on Saturday Oct. 19 at 2:15 p.m. for Sophomore Day. This will be Clipper Soccer's last home game of the season and we encourage the Olympia soccer community  to see both SPSCC Men's and Women's Soccer take the field at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Wash.

The Clippers will wrap up their West Region campaign on the road with games at Highline on Oct. 23 at 2:40 p.m., Tacoma on Oct. 26 at 2:15 p.m., and Pierce College on Oct 30 at 4:15 p.m.