Men’s Soccer Splits Games at NWAC Friendlies

The 2025 NWAC Friendlies have come and gone, and the Clipper Men's Soccer team had a bit of a stumble in their first game but recovered beautifully in their second match.

The lads' first match against Lane got off on the right foot; a scintillating cross from Juan Lopez found Alex Canning in open in the box and he calmly slotted it in the back of the net for the 1-0 lead in the 26th minute of the first half. However, the Titans were able to capitalize on the Clippers going down two men due to red cards. From there, Lane converted on two chances to give them the 2-1 lead and the score stayed that way until the final whistle.

It was a frustrating match for the Clippers, to say the least, and the lads had to make sure that they channeled their frustrations in a constructive way. And did they ever. The following day, the Clippers faced off against the Treasure Valley Chukars and what followed was an offensive explosion that Head Coach Max Sampson was awaiting all season.

In the first half, the Clippers got off to a strong start with goals coming from Jafet Galvan and Alejandro De La Rosa that gave them a 2-0 lead going into the half. Then, the floodgates opened. Five goals in the second half followed as Djibril Corrielus netted one goal and Cristian Luis and Christian Esquivel Jaskiewicz got in on the action, each scoring two goals.

The Clipper defense made goalkeeper Wyatt Thornycroft's day an easy one, as he hardly had to move a muscle with only one save on the day which was good enough for his first clean sheet of the season.

With that, the Clippers concluded another NWAC Friendly tournament and came back home to Olympia energized and ready to take on their final opponent of the preseason, yet another Oregonian team in Rogue Community College on Saturday, August 30.