RCL-Plus Spring Round-Up

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

As the sun shines a bit longer and the weather begins to warm there is plenty to celebrate as spring has arrived. Five Spokane Sounders / Shadow sides have won RCL championships this winter/spring along with several other outstanding finishes and performances in the Far West Regional League and major winter tournament events.

Finishing first in their RCL brackets this year were the 2003-A Girls (U15-Division 2), 2003-A Boys (U15-D3), 2002-B Boys (U16-D4), 2005-B Girls (U13-D4) and 2004 Shadow United (U14-D4). In addition, the 2005-A Girls were promoted midseason to the U13-Division 1 bracket and the 2004-A Boys were runners-up in U14-D1. The 2001-A and 2002-A ladies are also in position for runners-up or better finishes in U17-D1 and U16-D1 with a few more games remaining over the next two weeks. Plus, the 2002-A girls are also in position to finish atop the FWRL!

Lets kick off this recap with the Fall/Winter sides and how they finished off their campaigns…

1999 Boys

After wrapping up their U19-D1 campaign 3-9-0, the 99A squad were 1-3-0 at the FC Portland Winter Showcase in January that saw them defeat Cuervos 2-0 and play strong in a trio of one-goal defeats. The 99B side went 3-2-0 in November and December to finish fourth at 5-6-1 in U19-D3.

2001 Boys

The 01A squad were the lone team in the FC Portland Winter Showcase to finish a perfect 4-0-0 in the U17 portion of the January event. They opened things up with a 4-0 win against RVT Saturday morning and won twice on Sunday with a 1-0 morning win against Boise Nationals Timbers and a 2-1 afternoon victory over GPS Oregon. They wrapped things up with a 2-0 win against Washington Premier on Monday. For Boise and Washington Premier, it was their only losses of the event as they went 3-0-3 against their other opponents. The showcase results came after they went 3-2-1 the final two months of their U17-D1 RCL campaign that saw them finish fourth with a 6-6-2 record. The 01B side, meanwhile, only suffered one defeat in their final two months of the season. Three draws, though, left them at 6-5-3 for the U17-D3 season as they went 1-1-3 in November and December.

2002 Boys

The 02A squad only suffered one loss in November as they closed out their U16-D1 RCL campaign with a 3-1-1 run to finish fourth at 7-4-3. The 02A lads also played in the FC Portland Winter Showcase in January, going 2-2-0 in the event. After falling 2-1 in their Saturday morning opener to Washington Timbers, they rebounded with a resounding 3-0 win against Portland City United in the afternoon. They picked up their second win against Three Rivers, 2-0, on Sunday and dropped a narrow 1-0 result to CFC in their final game Monday. The 02B squad won their final two games in November in emphatic fashion with 5-0 and 5-2 victories, finishing atop the U16-D4 table with an impressive 11-1-2 mark.

2003 Boys

After an initial hiccup in their first game of November, the previously unbeaten 03A side continued to dominate through November and December. They posted a 6-2-0 record for the final two months to claim the top spot in U15-D3 RCL with a 12-2-0 record. The 03B side finished off its tough season on a bit of a high note in U15-D4 by posting a victory in its final weekend of play in November.

2004 Boys

The 04A side wrapped up pre-break play in November with three victories in U14-D1. They dropped their first game back in January, 1-0, but rebounded well to finish out the season with a 5-1-0 run to finish second in the league with an 11-5-2 record. The 04B squad went 2-4-3 after the break through February and March to finish 6-10-3 in U14-D4.

2005 Boys

The 05A lads were 1-1-1 in November before the break, but came out hot with three wins in January and February. Things went cold in March, however, as they went winless through four as they finished out the campaign fourth in U13-D1 with a 9-6-1 record. The 05B squad has gone 2-2-0 since returning to play in March and are currently 7-7-1 in U13-D3 with a game remaining in late April.

2004 Girls

The 04A ladies went 3-2-0 in November and December, but were a difficult side to beat after the break, going 3-1-3 since they resumed play in lat January. The hot finish propelled them to a fourth place finish in U14-D1 with an 8-7-4 record. The 04B squad struggled through the much of the season, but were sizzling hot down the final stretch in March. Taking advantage of home field most of the month, they were 3-1-1 in their final five games to finish 5-11-5 in U14-D3. Dominant throughout the campaign, meanwhile, was the G04 Shadow United side. The young ladies cruised through the U14-D4 division with a 16-0-2 record with seven and six-game win streaks to claim the top spot in the league.

2005 Girls

In a unique campaign, the 05A ladies were literally unbeatable in U13-D2 with 6-0-7 record through the end of their fall slate in November, leading to a midseason placement switch with a struggling U13-D1 team. Though they went 0-5-1 in the top flight over the final three months, the last four contests were extremely tight affairs in which the outstanding defensive talent of the squad allowed just five goals. The 05B ladies were just as dominant in their U13-D4 campaign, going unbeaten after the break with a draw and four-game win streak to finish out the season 13-2-3 to claim the top spot.

The older girls teams kicked off their RCL campaigns in December and January…

1999 / 2000 Girls

Both the 99A and 00A squads struggled through their RCL campaigns, but the 00A ladies performed well in the Far West Regional League with a 5-2-1 record. They currently sit third in the FWRL with games remaining for the fourth-place GS Surf. The 00A girls also played in the Las Vegas Players Showcase, doing well with a 0-2-2 result. They kicked off the event with a scoreless draw against Utah FC. In another pair of tight contests Saturday, they fell 1-0 to Albion SC and tied Players SC 1-1. They lost the final match 6-0 to Eagles.

2001 Girls

With one game remaining, the 01A squad with likely finish U17-D1 runners-up as they and third place Eastside both play the bottom two sides. The ladies were a strong side in the league with an 8-2-3 record. They were 2-2-1 in the opening five games, but a five-game win streak in the middle of the campaign propelled them to the top portion of the table. Meanwhile, the team was also doing well in the Far West Regional League, finishing with a 5-1-2 record. They were second in the FWRL with their only loss coming to 8-0-0 champions PacNW. Playing in the Las Vegas Players Showcase in March, the 01A ladies were also a dominant force in their group, rolling to a 4-0-0 record. They opened with a 3-0 win against Challenge East on Friday and followed it up with a 3-0 win against West Coast Soccer Wildfire and a 2-0 victory against South Valley United on Saturday. They capped the even with a 2-0 win over OK Energy FC. After struggling through the first half of the campaign, the 01B squad finished things off in impressive fashion with a 4-1-2 run over the second half of the season to finish fourth in U17-D2 at 6-5-2.

2002 Girls

The 02A ladies started the U16-D1 season off with a 3-0-1 start in December and January and have continued to perform well through February and March to set up an exciting finish in April. With two games remaining the team is currently second, sitting two points back of Eastside Reign, which only has one game remaining. They are also only three points clear of third-place PacNW, making their final road trip meaningful. A final 6-1-2 record in the Far West Regional League also has them in great position as they sit first in the league awaiting one more match to determine who claims the title. Second-place PacNW sits one point back and faces Eastside Reign, who are three back, in the final match of the league’s slate (April 4). Outside of league play, the team did well at the Las Vegas Players Showcase in March with a 0-2-2 performance. Playing twice on opening day, they fell in a narrow 2-1 decision against LVPSA and finished in a scoreless stalemate with Livermore Fusion. They drew 1-1 Saturday against Minneapolis United and dropped a 1-0 contest versus SF Elite Academy on the final day. It has been a tough season for the the 02B ladies in U16-D3, but the squad has been finding the back of the net of late with goals in their last three outings. They have four more matches over the next two weeks to close out the campaign.

2003 Girls

The 03A side started off with just one point in their first two games back in December. Since then, the team has been nearly unbeatable with a 11-1-0 record to finish 11-2-1 and claim the U15-D2 title. The team also played well at the Las Vegas Players Showcase in March with a 2-1-0 record. After falling 2-1 in the opener to Tanque Verde SC, the team rebounded with a 2-0 victory against LA Galaxy and a 6-0 trouncing of Pride SC on the weekend. The 03B squad is currently 3-4-2 with a pair of games remaining in U15-D4 and are in a three-way tie for third with the two home games left.

STATE & PRESIDENTS CUPS

The spring edition of the WYS State and Presidents Cup tournaments kicked off with a handful of games last weekend. Here’s a look back at the fall edition that saw numerous sides perform well, including a semifinal appearance by the Boys 2002-A side that was heartbreakingly knocked out 1-0 in overtime.