Seattle, Wa. - Trevor had a breakout game with 4 goals while Ryan added 2 more as ECFC handled Cascade FC at Roosevelt HS on Sunday.

With the victory, ECFC 92 White moved into 3rd place in standing with a CAP of 8.11, only 0.05 point behind 2nd place SunCity and improved its season record to 4-2-3 (W-L-T.)  ECFC 92 White will play Whatcom Rangers (also 4-2-3) in its final regular season game in Bellingham next Sunday at 2pm.

Olympia, Wa. - ECFC 92 White's journey down I-5 did not yield a pleasant result as the home team Blackhills FC handed coach Hamel's team its first road defeat of the season.  Despite coming up at the wrong end of the 0-1 final score, ECFC dominated time of possession, corner kicks, and shot-on-goals.  Unfortunately ECFC was not able to convert those opportunities into goal while it only took Blackhills FC one improbable shot well beyond goal box that beat ECFC GK Felyx to the top right corner in first half for the eventual game winner.

As the 2009-10 Washington State League is winding down, ECFC 92 White has earned a CAP of 7.93 with a 3-2-3 W-L-T record which placed it 5th (was 3rd last week) and still right on the tail of 3rd and 4th place Blackhills FC (7.98) and Norpoint FC (7.97) respectively.

SLIDE SHOW & GAME PHOTOS

Tukwila, Wa. - In the second meeting between these two teams, ECFC White and Norpoint 92, ECFC uncharacteristically gave up a goal even before some of the spectators were comfortably seated.  Digging itself into a deeper hole was when Norpoint pulled ahead 2-0 10 minutes later.

At 25' mark, Trevor scored ECFC first goal of the game by dribbling from midfield and fired from right side of Norpoint goal.  3 minutes later, Jayme tied it up with yet another shot from the right.

With the momentum going ECFC side, Tucker would give ECFC its first lead of the game at 3-2 when he scored the PK to the lower left corner at 30' mark after being tackled, sat on and fouled by Norpoint defender #23.  However an impossible goal from Norpoint #18 before halftime, with 3 ECFC defenders blanketing him at deep right corner, would tie things up again at 3-3 at the 37' mark.

In the second half, Jayme would score ECFC 4th goal at the 55' mark.  Despite scoring season high of 4 goals, unfortunately ECFC was only able to get a draw with Norpoint at 4-4.

SLIDE SHOW & GAME PHOTOS

Seattle, Wa. - Despite ECFC 92 White early furries of attacks, the visiting NW United Caro from Skagit scored early in the game and added another just before end of first half for a 2-0 lead.

ECFC fought hard out of the gate in second half and one seemingly a sure goal with Wim sending Kevin's pass into the net was called back for an offside (photo below courtesy Steve Deem.)  Nevertheless ECFC was able to break through with a goal when Jamie gathered a long boot from Felyx and shot it pass NW United keeper.

NW United added another goal in second half and ECFC charged back trying to come back with many scoring opportunities.  However, ECFC was not able to convert opportunities into goals as the final score stood 3-1.

Edmonds, Wa. - ECFC 92 White went up against stiff competition in Northwest National at Edmonds Stadium.  NWN tested ECFC defense often at beginning of the contest, but never got through in the first half.  Meanwhile, playing GK for the fourth game this season, Felyx held the fort while the defense holding on tight as first half concluded with a scoreless tie.

Despite playing against the wind in the second half, ECFC finally put one in the net as Joe headed one in at 47' mark off a rebound from initial header attempt by Trevor.

For the rest of second half, NWN applied constant pressure with many shots on goal, but ECFC GK was able to denied them all until 75' mark when a NWN free kick sailed over ECFC defensive wall and into right top corner of goal.

With the score tied up at one a piece, the two side went at each other hard.  ECFC finally earned a corner kick at the 83' mark and with a little luck, a NWN player bicycle kicked the ball into his own goal for an ECFC 2-1 lead, a score that stood as final.

With the 2-1 victory over Northwest National on Sunday, ECFC 92 White is now 2-0-2 (W-L-T) after 4 games with 8 points.  Of interesting note is that the team had allowed only 2 goals in the process; the lowest goal allowed in division.

Shoreline, Wa. - It was a case of better team on the pitch not necessarily win the match as ECFC 92 White out shot Eastside FC with many wonderful opportunities, but failed to convert.  Coming off a 1-1 tie against Sun City a week before, ECFC had to settle for yet another home tie against Eastside FC.

ECFC had a great opportunity to go on top right before halftime when an ECFC player was fouled inside Eastside FC 18-meter box.  Unfortunately the PK went over top right goal post.

Despite many ECFC advances in second half, most notably some great passing that resulted in Jayme's header bouncing off lower right goal post, Eastside FC had an opportunity to take the lead when ECFC was called fouled inside its own penalty box.  Playing GK for the third game in place of injured Carlos, Felyx was able to stop the PK as ECFC escaped a possible loss to a team they seemingly able to beat.

Seattle, Wa. - The game at Garfield High School between ECFC 92 White and Sun City Strikers from Yakima marks the second time the two teams played each other in one month.  Hoping to avenge a 5-2 loss at Pacific Coast Challenge tournament in Bellingham, ECFC came out of the gate quickly as Patrick, Trevor, and Jayme put lots of pressure on Sun City defense early and ECFC went up 1-0 with a header from Cody at 5' mark.

ECFC defense hung tough the remainder of first half while holding the lead.  Rough plays by the visitors were evident and eventually resulted in a yellow card on a Sun City player.  Playing keeper for second consecutive game, Felyx made enough saves to preserve ECFC 1-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Sun City came out swinging and kept ECFC on its heels.  Despite a second yellow against a Sun City player was pulled at 82' mark, the visiting team finally scored an equalizer 3 minutes later as an unmarked Sun City forward nailed one at top right corner of the goal.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie and 1 point each for the 2 teams.

Walla Walla, Wa. – ECFC 92 White made its 570 miles trip worthwhile with a win against BMSC Earthquakes at Walla Walla Community College that recorded 91 degree at kickoff.

ECFC White had some nice scoring opportunities during the first half, but was not able to put one in the net by end of first half.  Enduring Earthquakes rough plays that included 2 yellows, Emerald City boys dodged a near goal by BMSC just before half time as ECFC defense came through with a clearance.

After the break, ECFC finally punched through with a goal as Jayme’s header redirected Kevin’s kick from the right and pass BMSC keeper into the far left corner at 80’ mark.  ECFC defended the lead successfully the rest of the game to earn season opener victory.  Felyx earned a clean sheet in goal while subbing for injured Carlos.  All in all, it was a terrific team effort.

2009 Fall schedule is available here.

Bellingham, Wa. - The team ran into stiff competitions at Pacific Coast Challenge tournament this past weekend and is fortunate that its players escaped Whatcom county without any major injury.

In its first game on Friday, ECFC 92 White went up against a P1 opponent.  Wearing red, Snohomish United Black, coached by Gary White, held nothing back and came out swinging when the bell rang.  Enduring countless fouls, ECFC 92 White competed on par against Snohomish with some really good scoring chances, but the half ended with ECFC down 0-1.  Unfortunately ECFC was not able to overcome Snohomish rough play (2 yellow and many fouls,) and its own misopportunities in the eventual 0-2 defeat.

Bellingham, Wa. - ECFC 92 White played its second game on Saturday morning against another P1 team, Columbia Timbers Red.  Through out most of first half, it appeared that ECFC White was able to stay close to Timbers, but a late Timbers goal to end first half brought the score to 0-2, the same final score that Timbers defeated ECFC Green earlier.  ECFC 92 White gave up 3 more goals in second half and suffered its toughest defeat so far this summer.

Later on that same day, ECFC 92 White scored its first goal of tournament with Tucker's bicycle kick in the first half against Yakima's Sun City Strikers.  ECFC kept it close though out the game, but after ECFC second goal that closed the gap to 2-3, courtesy of Trevor's header froma corner kick, Sun City scored 2 unanswered goals to hand ECFC a 5-2 defeat.

During August 21st to 23rd, ECFC 92 White will be heading north to compete in this annual event in Bellingham.  More information for this tournament including (when available) schedules, field map,and driving directions can be found at Whatcom Soccer site.  

ECFC has reserved 200 group tickets for this game.  It is going fast, so if you're still interested to watch this world class La Liga team in person, call Gary Boyles at Sounders FC at 425-203-8303 now.  Tickets are $35 each and are in section 303 Rows L-S.

Patrick and I were very pleased with the first outings of the team this past weekend. The team played hard, which is a must. They had a healthy fighting spirit, good energy around the ball, and a desire to win. We were able to create good scoring opportunities and showed creativity and hunger in the attack. Our team defense improved each game. We will continue to work on not giving the ball away unnecessarily, and on getting our defense to gel. We have some really good players to work with for that.

Patrick and I were also happy with the contributions our new players made. Our team is improved, and we have good depth in almost every position. Overall, this was a very successful weekend. The boys definitely showed they were one of the best teams there, and with some luck and a few less mistakes, they would have been in the final and certainly could have won it all.

Thanks, and Happy 4th of July!John

• The team's first tournament game was a scoreless battle against Cascade FC92 at Valley Ridge #3.  Both sides had scoring oportunities, but none materialized.  ECFC came away with 4 points and a valuable learning experience.

• For Saturday night game at Starfire #3, ECFC 92 White dominated River City SC United early and often.  The score was 4-0 by half time thanks to numerous shot-on-goals.  While both teams played just about even in most of second half, River City sneaked one in during the game final minute and left ECFC with 9 out of possible 10 points.

• With total of 13 points going into Sunday, the team clashed with group C leader Norpoint FC 92 with 14 points.  The game proved to be a physical one with Norpoint drawing a yellow card along with several non-call fouls.  ECFC had some very good scoring opportunities early on, but was not able to convert.  Norpoint put one in the net mid way in second half, but ECFC never gave up as Sahil provided an equalizer with less than 10 minutes left in game.  Both teams would earn 4 points from this contest.  Ending with 1 point ahead of ECFC, the eventual tournament winner Norpoint moved on to semi.

While ECFC 92 White did not reach semi, this tournament shows that the team has lots of guts to go along with its talents and make us all look forward to a successful 2009/10 campaign.

Don't forget to mark this game on your calendar when Chelsea FC, an English Premier League powerhouse visit Seattle for a friendly.

ECFC had sold out all tickets for June 17th Seattle Sounders FC vs. DC United Kick-off is scheduled at 7:30pm and if you can't make it to the game, tune in to ESPN2 or listen to 97.3FM for live broadcasts.

June 17, 2009 Update:  There were a handful of our ECFC players and families at the game.  DC went up 1-0 first, but Sounders FC answered right back with Alonso's shot outside 18-meter box and another Sounders FC goal with 1 minute left in injury time to go up 2-1 at half.  Seattle scored again to take 3-1 lead, but with Ljundberg and Montero subbed out in last 10 min., DC scored 2 resulting in a 3-3 tied game (last being Marshall's own goal.)

ECFC Peter Fewing summer camp will take place 2 days after Adidas Cup (Starfire) tournament from June 30th to July 3rd.  A handful of our players will be participating and if you'd like to join, please register here (under "2009 THREE NIGHT RESIDENCE CAMPS-NORTH BEND" go to "THREE-NIGHT RESIDENCE TEAM RATE $345" and select "ECFC-(U15-U18.)"  Driving directions and sample day schedules can be found here.

While it's still quite a way out, it is never too early to make lodging arrangement for the team's third tournament of the year down in Oregon.  Gwen, our trusty team travel coordinator had provided pertinent lodging details here.  Booking early is always a good strategy, so please don't wait too long.  Meanwhile, Click here for field locations & directions (both fields in Hillsboro.)

As we get closer to the first games of the year, some of us might need to get in touch with volunteers with their respective responsibilities.  You can find a list of volunteer jobs here.