Lane United FC emerged victorious with a 3-1 win over visiting Bellevue Athletic FC in Saturday’s pre-season opener.
Both teams battled some hot weather conditions, but the Reds were able to overcome the high temperatures to secure the win over the UPSL squad from Washington.
The Reds proved to be the superior side the whole game, applying pressure on their opponents from the opening whistle. They dominated possession and created several early chances, but it wasn’t until the 31st minute that they finally broke through. A scramble in front of the goal saw the ball bounce to Tommy Case on the right wing and the midfielder buried it past the goalkeeper for the only goal of the first half.
Coming out of halftime, the Reds scored again to take a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute, as Dor Moskowitz tapped in a nice cross from Brazilian wingback Guilherme Viserta. Bellevue responded quickly, however, and just six minutes later Joseph Demissie cut the lead in half, launching the ball with a beautiful long-range effort that sailed just past the outstretched hand of the home goalkeeper. Reds’ substitute Tomas Serrano scored shortly after in the 72nd minute to put the Reds up 3-1 to round out the scoring.
While Lane United pressed on for a fourth, with Peter Conrad rattling the bar from distance with a wicked left-footed shot, they were unable to add to their tally. The home side outshot Bellevue 23-4 overall, with an 8-2 advantage on shots on goal.
Up next for LUFC is their second and final preseason friendly versus another UPSL team, Rose City Deportivo, from Portland.