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The South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) men’s soccer team played its first home match in nearly two years on September 11, losing to visiting Whatcom Community College, 6-1, in a Northwest Athletic Conference non-conference match at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.

Freshman center Yuta Shimazu notched the Clippers’ lone tally in the loss on an unassisted goal in the 17th minute.

SPSCC fell to 1-2-1 with the setback.

The Clippers surrendered two goals in the opening 6 minutes before Shimazu cut the deficit in half. The Orcas added a third goal in the 30th minute to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

South Puget Sound goalkeeper Christian Morell made 11 saves in the loss, while sophomore forward Saloum Malang paced the squad with two shots.  The Orcas held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.

South Puget Sound opened the new season with a 4-0 defeat against North Idaho on August 25 before registering a 1-1 tie in its second match against Wenatchee Valley, a NWAC tournament playoff team in 2019, on August 26. Trailing 1-0 late in the contest, the Clippers received the equalizer from Malang in the 89th minute.

The Clippers were credited with their first win on the season following a 1-0 forfeit to Clark College due to COVID-19 on September 1.

South Puget Sound hits the road for its next three matches, beginning with the Clippers’ NWAC West Region conference opener on September 15 at Edmonds College. The team will play non-conference games at Skagit Valley College (September 17) and at Peninsula (September 22) before returning to host Everett on September 25.

The match against Everett marks the start of four consecutive home games for the Clippers at the RAC. They follow up that match with home conference games against Pierce College (September 29), Bellevue College (October 2) and Highline College (October 9).

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