OLYMPIA — The 2026 season couldn’t have started any stronger for The Evergreen State College men’s soccer team Thursday morning.
Just seven minutes and 12 seconds into the Geoducks’ regular season opener at home against Ottawa University Arizona, junior Luca Viana, in his Evergreen debut after transferring from Ave Maria University, notched a sliding 5-yard goal to put the Geoducks ahead 1-0.
He celebrated promptly by finding the cameras and showing off his golf swing.
The soccer ball was flying around the pitch for Evergreen’s offense throughout the first half. Defensively, the Geoducks, namely senior goalkeeper Tom Cole, locked down Ottawa’s shots in the attacking third. Nary an Ottawa corner kick got legitimately close to knotting the score in the first half. Evergreen consistently created strong looks on offense, none better than Viana’s seventh-minute goal.
“The start was really good. We had good rhythm, good shape, and good danger,” Evergreen sixth-year head coach Steve Schmidt said. “We created several dangerous opportunities. We can build on that.”
But after halftime, Schmidt swapped most of his starters out for his second unit to give the coaches a look at the entire roster in action. While the defense, spearheaded by keeper Rico Ewell, remained stout, the offense struggled to maintain possession for much of the second half.
Yet Ottawa’s Daniel Coke slipped a goal from 8 yards out into the lower left side of the net past Ewell to tie the score at 1-1 in the 50th minute. After a couple of nail-biting Geoducks possessions in the final three minutes, the game concluded in a 1-1 draw. It’s the first time Evergreen has not lost its season opener since 2019, snapping a five-game opening day losing streak.
Outside of the Viana score off of passes by Alec Zimmerman and Kolby Juarez, Evergreen consistently produced open looks, but poor passes were often the factor that prevented a shot. Freshman Miles DeLaRosa made a clutch tackle inside the box in the 35th minute and poked the ball away in the process. Junior forward Noah Blake nearly put Evergreen ahead 2-0 in the 44th minute, but his free kick missed wide to the right just before halftime.
The overarching takeaway, despite the missed opportunities, was the well-composed defense in the first half by the Geoducks.
“We didn’t give up many opportunities. I think there was one where we lost our marking responsibilities and let a player through, but outside of that one chance, if we’re limiting them to one opportunity in a half, that’s really good,” Schmidt said.
Ottawa came out of halftime aggressive on offense against the Geoducks’ second unit and capitalized with Coke’s goal five minutes into the second half.
The final 20 minutes were not only played at a higher pace but with a seemingly higher intensity. Players on both teams frequently chirped at one another after contact, leading to four yellow cards and one red card in an 11-minute span.
In the 72nd minute, Ottawa earned its best chance to take the lead after a foul on Evergreen. Coke lined up a penalty kick, which was heroically saved by Ewell. Six minutes later, Geoducks junior Finley Sundberg missed a clean, close look by clanking it on the left side of the bar.
Ottawa’s Thomas Berlinski picked up a red card in the 80th minute, setting up a penalty kick for Zimmerman, who had never attempted a PK in his collegiate career until Thursday. His shot missed wide left, however, leaving the Geoducks scoreless in the second half.
With under a minute remaining, Juarez lined up a corner kick that bounced around the pitch before finding the right foot of Zac Walker. Ottawa’s keeper was nearly out of the box to defend the shot, but Walker got it off with about five seconds left.
The attempt hooked left, and the Geoducks laid on the grass exasperated as the time expired, knowing they had a perfect chance at a game-winning goal slip through their fingers.
“For us, it’s just about recognizing the moment of the game. The game is there to be won. Attacking corner kicks is something that we’ve been working on,” Schmidt said. “We may score on the first one. That’s our expectation. But if we don’t, can we create second and third bites out of that apple?”
Schmidt said the plan all along was to play the starters for the first half and then call for a platoon of substitutes in the second half, as the Geoducks have been doing throughout the preseason to explore their depth. But, as the Cascade Collegiate Conference slate gets rolling in four weeks, the coaches will tighten up the rotation.
“We wanted to see if our guys could respond when we don’t have the same grab on the game,” Schmidt said. “We need to work on that a little bit. They started to respond pretty well. We can build on that and then just be a little more clinical in finishing. We created a lot of danger. They will start getting more clinical the more we work on them.”
Evergreen (0-0-1) will remain at home for its second game of the fall when Linfield comes to Geoduck Pitch on Tuesday, Sept. 1. CCC action begins with a home matchup with Oregon Tech on Friday, Sept. 18.
