In their first action of the season, the Grays Harbor Gulls earned a 1-1 draw against Club America Nido Aguila of Seattle.
Although they possessed the ball for the majority of the first half, Club America was only able to manage a few scoring chances. Their goal came in the 15th minute of the match on a shot that was deflected in traffic. The Gulls best chance of the half came in the 5th minute on a long ball to Centerback William Galeana, who was in an advanced position. His shot beat the keeper but went just wide right.
In the second half, the Gulls saw more possession as they pushed for an equalizer. Club America's attacks in the half all came from set pieces. In the 67th minute, second half goalkeeper Rapha Jimenez made a sprawling save to his left on a Club America freekick, to keep the score 1-0.
With 10 minutes to play, Aaron Arias found room at midfield to feed a through ball to Alex Pugadelarosa. Pugadelarosa ran past the last defender, stayed up through a tackle, and entered the left corner of the penalty area. His ball across the box found Juan Oropeza who curled in a left-footed shot to the near post from the center of the box.
With 2 minutes remaining, the flood lights turned off, causing a short stoppage. After resuming, the Gulls made two more attacks, but couldn't find the winner.
Coach Drew Grannemann was pleased with his team's effort and resiliency after conceding an early goal.
Juan Oropeza was named man of the match for his performance.
The next Gulls match is April 13th at 4pm against FC International at Stewart Field.