December 15, 2013 - Woodinville, WA The inaugural Northwest League Champions Cup took place on December 14/15 in Woodinville, WA, matching the League Champions from the EA SPORTS BC Soccer Premier League against the League Champions from ’s Regional Club League.

In the agreed upon “Ryder Cup type” format, the BCSPL teams won 6 of the 8 matches to take ownership of the trophy for the first year! With overcast, but dry skies, the inaugural competition began with excitement and the anxious feelings around the launch of a new event. Many parents were commenting about the “old days” of the Washington/BC soccer exchanges that took place regularly in the 70’s and 80’s, and the Washington organizers did well to ensure everything went off without a hitch.

In the U13 girls division, an entertaining back and forth match gained many compliments for its talent on display between Washington Crossfire and Mountain United. The match ended 3-3 and went straight to penalty kicks. Going to the 10th shooter, Crossfire came away with the win. U13 Champions Washington Crossfire girls In the U13 boys division, Mountain United encountered a Mountain United FC boys skilled United team intent on keeping possession and making it tough on the Mountain boys to win the ball back. However, Mountain came into the match after an initial 15 minute feeling out period, using their physical superiority to start winning 50/50 balls. The Mountain boys soon took over by pressing the Seattle United boys and creating numerous scoring opportunities. The match ended 3-1 for Mountain United.

In the U14 girls match, Washington Crossfire found themselves toe to toe with a hard working Coastal FC team. While outright scoring chances were limited, the U14 Champions match was an end to end affair that ended 1-1. In penalty kicks, the Crossfire team took the win with their 4th Washington Crossfire girls shooter capping their club’s second win of the day. Surrey United SC boys

And in the U14 boys division, the event saw its first lopsided result of the day. Washington Crossfire were clearly outmatched in size and speed by Surrey United's boys. After a relatively close 1-0 halftime score, Surrey ran away with an 8-0 win at the full time whistle. Unfortunately, Crossfire had a player filling in the whole match for an injured goalkeeper, but despite his best efforts, it was clear a regular keeper would have helped Crossfire's cause on the day.

U15 Champions Day 2 started off with the U15 boys and girls divisions. Mountain United FC girls Metro-Ford SC boys In the U15 boys, Coquitlam Metro-Ford’s solid possession game worked well to keep Eastside FC from getting on the ball much. Despite a very competitive opening 20 minutes of play, Coquitlam gradually took control and in the end, a 4-1 result belonged to the Canadian visitors.

On the adjoining field, the U15 girls match was another close encounter. Mountain United showed strong periods of control and possession, but the PACwest opponents didn’t bend or break. Despite hitting a crossbar and going close, Mountain couldn’t find the opener. PACwest created a few chances of their own in a very entertaining match that finished 1-0 to Mountain United. U16b and U17g Champions Coastal FC girls The U16 boys match was a good challenge for the Seattle Surrey United SC boys United boys going up against the U16 Canadian National Champions. Seattle opened the scoring in the first half, and looked to have a good foothold in the match. However, as the match went on, Surrey’s speed of play caused Seattle problems at the back resulting in a few goals to run away with a 4-1 result.

In the U17 girls match, the designated home team, Spokane Shadow, played the role of visitors with a 5 hour drive each way to play the match. Both teams were cautious in the opening 20 minutes, getting a feel for each other’s tendencies. Coastal called on Spokane’s keeper to make a couple strong saves in the first half. Coastal’s forwards caused problems for Spokane’s defenders as the match wore on, eventually resulting in a second half goal to earn a 1-0 result.

Congratulations, and thanks, to all players and coaches that participated in this inaugural event. We are working with Washington to ensure this event, and possibly others, connect our leagues for further development opportunities.

About the BCSPL The EA SPORTS BC Soccer Premier League was designed by BC Soccer, the Whitecaps FC and soccer community representatives, to create a new high performance level of competition and support player development at the provincial, professional and national team level. It will simplify scouting of top young players, provide an elevated level of competition and increase the chance for players fulfilling their potential and creates a dynamic new commercial property at the pinnacle of youth soccer in BC. Eight founding franchises were announced in February 2011, with the first full season of competition that began in February 2012, and continues through November each year. It features male and female divisions at the U-13, U-14, U- 15, U-16, U-17 and U-18 levels, equating to approximately 1,500 players. For more information on the league: www.bcsoccerpremierleague.net