Key performances in Defiance's first win of season

Jeremiah Oshan -

Sometimes in soccer, it’s better to be opportunistic than dominant. The Tacoma Defiance did not look particularly good or in control, but they took their chances well to beat The Town FC 3-1 on Friday in their home-opener.

Lars Helleren made 11 saves to earn the win, while Osaze DeRosario, Yu Tsukanome and Edson Carli each scored goal.

Key players

Lars Helleren: The goalkeeper was called on a lot and was mostly up to the task. The Town fired off 23 shots, put 12 of those on frame and had four big chances but only came away with one goal in large part because of Helleren's play. He was also good in distribution on a day when the Defiance struggled to string passes together.

Snyder Brunell: Not the cleanest passing day for the young midfielder – he was 26 of 40 – but perhaps it's a sign of growth that he still managed to have a solid game. Defensively, Brunell was a big reason that The Town didn't have more clean looks as he was 4 of 6 on tackles, 8 of 14 on duels and was credited with 13 defensive actions.

Edson Carli: The 17-year-old came in as a halftime sub and at least helped bring a sense of calmness to the game. His standout moment came in the 88th minute when a ball fell to him in the box and he hit a left-footed volley for his first professional goal.

Highlights

Stats

MATCH SUMMARY 

Tacoma Defiance 3 – The Town FC 1

Friday, March 14, 2025

Venue: Starfire Stadium

Referee: Igor Bych

Assistants: Karsten Gillwald, CJ Koll

Fourth official: Christopher Calderon

Weather: 46 degrees and cloudy

SCORING SUMMARY 

TAC – Osaze De Rosario (Sebastian Gomez) 1’

TAC – Yu Tsukanome 36’

TTFC – Riley Lynch (Oliver Hernandez Parra) 63’

TAC – Edson Carli (Snyder Brunell) 88’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY  

TTFC – Wilson Eisner 75’

TAC – Peter Kingston 82’ 

LINEUPS & STATS 

Tacoma Defiance – Lars Helleren; Charlie Gaffney (Mitchell Emert 63’), Kaito Yamada, Gallatin Sandnes, Elias Katsaros (Birame Diaw 63’); Snyder Brunell – captain, Danny Robles (Edson Carli HT); Jackson Khoury (Joonmo Kang HT), Yu Tsukanome (Peter Kingston 75’), Sebastian Gomez; Osaze De Rosario 

Substitutes not used: Mo Shour, Ryan Baer, Etienne Veillard

Total shots: 10

Shots on goal: 7

Fouls: 11

Offside: 1

Corner-kicks: 3

Saves: 11 

The Town FC – Francesco Montail; Reid Roberts, Max Floriani, Alejandro Cano, Ricardo Ibarra – captain (Diogo Brandes Baptista 90'); Wilson Eisner, Rohan Rajagopal (Kaedren Spivey 80’), Riley Lynch, Oliver Hernandez Parra (Keegan Walwyn-Bent 63’); Nonso Adimabua (Julian Donnery 63’), Jermaine Spivey (Chance Cowell 80’) 

Substitutes not used: David Sweeney 

Total shots: 23

Shots on goal: 12

Fouls: 6

Offside: 4

Corner-kicks: 13

Saves: 3