The second week of action in the Evergreen Premier League (EPLWA) saw Spokane, Seattle and Tri-Cities earn three points each with wins over Bellingham, Olympic and Yakima. Seattle returns to the pitch on Sunday at the home opener for the Oly Town Artesians.
Spokane Shadow 4-0 Bellingham United
SPOKANE, WA— Mike Ramos factored in three of the four goals for the Shadow (1-1-0) as they shut out the Hammers (0-1-1) in Spokane. In the 23rd minute Ramos delivered a cross from deep on the left side that found Chase Reidt inside the box for the close-range finish. In the 43rd minute Ramos intercepted the ball as it was being passed between defenders inside the box and quickly fired past Bellingham keeper Bryce Logan to make it 2-0 Shadow. Spokane put the match away in the 62nd when Tanner Williams fired a well-paced ball toward goal that Hammers goalkeeper Logan dropped on, but the ball squirted through and Eric Espinoza was there on the doorstep to bang it home. The final score was complete in the 80th when Ramos played a role in a third goal on the night, connecting with Karl Muelheims, who placed his shot past the keeper from about 15 yards in the right side of the box.
Spokane goals: Chase Reidt, Mike Ramos, Eric Espinoza, Karl Muelheims.
Shut out: Luiz Hernandez
Yakima United 0-1 Tri-Cities Alliance
YAKIMA, WA— In the first league match of what many are expecting to become a nice rivalry the Lions (2-0-0) got a single goal but it held up for a 1-0 win over the homestanding Hoppers (0-2-0) at Sozo Sports. Ricky Chicas kept his cool and placed a shot perfectly in the 36th minute for the Lions, who have now won two straight Columbia Division matches to start their life in the EPLWA. Tonio Gonzalez, last week’s Player of the Week in the EPLWA on defense, secured the shutout for the visitors with 5 saves.
Tri-Cities goals: Ricky Chicas
Shut out: Tonio Gonzalez.
Olympic Force 2-3 Seattle Stars
BREMERTON, WA— The Olympic Force (0-2-0) rallied from down 2-0 to catch Seattle, but then the Stars (1-0-0) got a late winner in their 2018. season debut. Seattle scored first in just the 6th minute of play on a goal from Kees Westra that was assisted by Cody Buchanan. The visitors made it 2-0 in the 35th when Buchanan turned scorer on a pass from Glody Divava. The Force began their comeback in the 53rd minute on an unassisted goal from Mitchell Balmer. They got even in the 75th on a strike from James Salisbury. That left it up to the Stars and they put home the winner in the 82nd on a goal from Jason Rodriguez.
Seattle Stars goals: Kees Westra, Cody Buchanan, Jason Rodriguez.
Olympic goals: Mitchell Balmer, James Salisbury.
Evergreen Premier League 
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