The Northwest Champions League staged their U11 – U14 championships the weekend of December 3-4 in at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington and we are proud to announce that our U12 and U13 boys can both lay claim to being the best team in the Northwest! It capped an impressive weekend for the club which saw six of our teams advance to the semi-finals. Congratulations are in order for all of the teams that represented the WPFC family so well since the competition began in August. Our boys U11 and U14 and girls U13 and U14 teams lost hard-fought matches on Saturday, but the boys U12s and U13s advanced with dramatic one-goal victories to propel them into the finals.
The U12s, coached by Wade Webber, overcame a 3-1 deficit in the second half of their semi-final with a flurry of goals, defeating F.C. Portland 5-4. It was a demonstration of the character and confidence of our boys that they came back against the talented Oregonians. The U13s, also led by Coach Webber, dominated the majority of the game against Oregon’s Cascade F.C., but the high-scoring team only managed a single goal and had to survive some tense closing minutes to progress to the final.
Championship Sunday began with the U12s facing a rematch of the U11 state championship as WPFC squared off against Crossfire. Kobe Middlebrooks opened the scoring for WPFC with a goal just before halftime to send our boys into the break with a lead in a back-and-forth match. The game remained tight until a free kick from Zak Gregg found the net, which was soon followed by a blast from Calob Mejia which went in off the post, putting the result beyond doubt. A 3-0 shutout was a fitting end to a terrific, undefeated campaign for the boys!
The U13s took the field immediately after the 12s and were facing a familiar rival in Eastside F.C. Both teams found it difficult to break each other down, going into halftime scoreless. The game turned on a moment of magic from Marcos Santos, who beat three defenders and struck an inch-perfect shot inside the far post from a difficult angle. From that point on the boys turned up the pressure and their efforts were rewarded with an Oscar Zepeda header off a corner kick and another stunner from Santos, this time a rocket from twenty-five yards. It was another 3-0 win for WPFC in a championship match ending another undefeated NWCL season.
Thanks to all of our teams who participated in the NWCL! You continue to represent our club very well and we wish you the best of luck in 2012!
