2021 Northwest Premier League Awards

Maddie Goss with Clark College

2021 Player Of The Year: Maddie Goss (Vancouver Victory) – Vancouver native Maddie Goss started every game for the Victory this season scoring four goals and chipping in with eight assists to lead the Washington Timbers/Vancouver Victory franchise to their second Northwest Premier League title. Described by her coach, Joshua Westermann, as one of the hardest workers on and off the field, Goss took care of her teammates and made them better, many times dishing out assists rather than scoring herself. The former Clark College star is now a junior at Warner Pacific where she has already scored three goals in five games for the Knights.

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Josh Westermann

2021 Coach Of The Year: Josh Westermann (Vancouver Victory) – Warner Pacific head coach Josh Westermann took the reins of the newly renamed Vancouver Victory for the 2021 season and built a strong roster and kept a consistent product on the field in a challenging season en route to the NWPL championship. Westermann, a native of Oregon City, Oregon, guided the Victory to a 5-1 record and a commanding +13 goal differential in six games. The National Junior College Athletics Association Hall Of Famer for his playing career at Yavapai College is back at Warner Pacific for his second season in charge of the Knights.

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Grace Terrill

2021 Golden Boot: Paige German & Maddie Goss (Vancouver Victory), Grace Terrill (Yakima United) – Three players share the Golden Boot Award for the 2021 season with four goals apiece. Vancouver’s Paige German and Maddie Goss spread their goal scoring out over the six game season while Grace Terrill did all of her damage in just one game, a four goal performance against Blackhills in week one.

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Makenna McClellan

2021 Golden Gloves: Lyric Tinnell (Blackhills), Makenna McClellan & Chantal Reyes (Vancouver Victory) – 2021 saw three shutouts and the Golden Gloves Award goes to three different players. Makenna McClellan and Chantal Reyes each posted one for Vancouver on June 5th and July 17th, respectively. Meanwhile, Lyric Tinnell kept a clean sheet on June 19th in 3-0 win for Blackhills on the road against AC Chehalem Valley.

Vancouver Clinches NWPL Title With 4-0 Victory

Vancouver Victory 4, Blackhills FC 0

Behind a goal and two assists from Maddie Goss and a clean sheet by goalkeeper Chantal Reyes, the Vancouver Victory clinched the top spot in the table and took home the 2021 Northwest Premier League championship with their 4-0 win over Blackhills FC.

Needing to win, draw, or lose by less than seven goals, Vancouver took care of business, starting with a goal from Rachel Anderson in the 14th minute on Maddie Goss’ first assist of the game. Despite most of the possession in the first half, the two teams went to the break just separated by the one goal. But Mary Swisher made it 2-0 less than ten minutes into the second half off of another assist from Goss, then Goss scored one of her own in the 65th minute to make it 3-0. Makayla Roggow assisted Goss’ goal and then got one of her own in the 75th to cement the victory for the Victory.

Vancouver finished the four team, six game season with a 5-1-0 record and 15 points, three points ahead of second place Yakima United. This is the second championship for the Vancouver Victory/Washington Timbers. They won the title in 2017 while playing as the Timbers.

Blackhills finished their season at 3-3-0 with nine points and a third place finish.

GOALS: ’14 – Rachel Anderson (Maddie Goss) – Vancouver, ’54 – Mary Swisher (Goss) – Vancouver, ’65 – Goss (Makayla Roggow – Vancouver, ’75 – Roggow (Lauren Snedeker) – Vancouver

Players Of The Week: June 26 to July 17

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  Makayla Roggow

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  Maddie Goss

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  Landrey McCann

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  Isabelle Bauer

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  Margaret McBroom

Offense:

Makayla Roggow – Vancouver Victory: Makayla Roggow tallied a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-0 win over AC Chehalem Valley, putting the Victory on the verge of the 2021 NWPL league title. The Northwest Nazarene junior scored the Victory’s second goal of the contest in the 35th minute and then dished to Paige German in the 43rd minute to give Vancouver a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Maddie Goss – Vancouver Victory: We would be remiss if we did not recognize Maddie Goss’ spectacular week four performance in a 7-1 win over Blackhills. Goss, playing in 100+ degree weather that cancelled the other week’s contest and upended the weekly awards, scored twice and added four assists in the victory. The Vancouver native and Union High School grad has scored three times for the Victory this season.

Defense:

Landrey McCann – Blackhills: Blackhills turned the tables on Yakima United on Saturday, avenging a 5-1 loss to open the season with their own 5-1 win on the road Saturday. Landrey McCann was singled out for the Blackhills defense keeping the Hoppers off the board for until the 84th minute of play, keeping the Blackhills title hopes alive.

Isabelle Bauer/Margaret McBroom – Vancouver: Goalkeeper Isabelle Bauer collected seven saves including a penalty kick save in their 7-1 win over Blackhills on June 26th and Margaret McBroom has been instrumental on the Victory back line all season long leading the way in allowing just one goal in their past two games including Saturday’s shutout.

Week 6 Recap: Big Wins For Vancouver, Blackhills

Vancouver Victory 4, AC Chehalem Valley 0

Makayla Roggow tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Vancouver Victory to a 4-0 win over AC Chehalem Valley on Saturday afternoon at Harmony Sports in Vancouver. Rachel Anderson opened the scoring in the 17th minute on an assist by Mary Swisher. Eleanor Schmid fed Raggow for a goal in the 35th that made it 2-0 and then Raggow fed Paige German to make it 3-0. Chloe Harris added a goal in the 54th minute to finish the scoring and goalkeepers Isabell Bauer and Chantal Reyes combined to keep a clean sheet in the 4-0 win.

Vancouver moved to 4-1-0 on the season and will take on Blackhills FC next weekend in a battle for the league title.

GOALS: ’17 – Rachel Anderson (Mary Swisher) – Vancouver, ’35 – Makayla Roggow (Eleanor Schmid) – Vancouver, ’43 – Paige German (Roggow) – Vancouver, ’54 – Chloe Harris – Vancouver

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Blackhills 5, Yakima United 1

Five different players scored to lead Blackhills to a 5-1 road win over Yakima United at SOZO Sports in Yakima on Saturday afternoon. Brooke Streeter and Liz Clemens each scored first half goals to give Blackhills a 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes. Then Jocelyn Charette scored three minutes into the second half and then drew a penalty kick in the 68th minute that Mel Alvarado converted to make it 4-0. Emma Rose finished off the scoring for Blackhills in the 73rd to make it 5-0. Brianna Garfias scored the lone goal for Yakima off of an assist from Arianna Lopez in the 83rd but fell 5-1 in their last game of the season.

Blackhills improved to 3-2-0 this season and have an outside chance of winning the league title when they face Vancouver next Saturday. They will need to win and win by 7 goals to break win the tiebreaker over the Victory.

GOALS: ‘5 – Brooke Streeter – Blackhills, ’17 – Liz Clemens (Niki Covert) – Blackhills, ’48 – Jocelyn Charette – Blackhills, ’68 – Mel Alvarado (PK) – Blackhills, ’73 – Emma Rose – Blackhills, ’83 – Brianna Garfias (Arianna Lopez) – Yakima

Week 4 Recap: Victory Victorious in Olympia

Maddie Goss | Photo from Clark College Athletics

Vancouver Victory 7, Blackhills 1

The Vancouver Victory took over first place in the Northwest Premier League with a resounding 7-1 victory over Blackhills FC on the grass at the Capital Soccer Fields in Olympia. Maddie Goss and Paige German scored twice in the victory. Goss added four assists for the Victory.

Vancouver started the scoring with a Rachel Anderson goal in the 12th minute and poured it on with five more goals in the first half including both of German and Goss’ goals and a 42nd minute strike by Sophia Connell and they took a 6-0 lead at the half.

Blackhills scored their loan goal on the hour mark thanks to Mel Alvarado, but Brin Wolvert wrapped things up in the 69th to make it 7-1 and the Victory improved to 3-1-0 during this abbreviated NWPL season.

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GOALS: ’12 – Rachel Anderson (Maddie Goss – Vancouver, ’20 – Paige German (Anderson) – Vancouver, ’37 – Goss (Maya Davis) – Vancouver, ’40 – German (Goss) – Vancouver, 42 – Sophia Connell (Goss), ’45 – Goss (German) – Vancouver, ’60 – Mel Alvarado – Blackhills, ’69 – Brin Wolvert (Goss) – Vancouver

Week 3 Players Of The Week: Covert and Tinnel

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  Niki Covert

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  Lyric Tinnel

Offensive:

Niki Covert – Blackhills FC: In a game that featured 29 shots on goal between the two teams, Niki Covert broke open a 1-0 game with two goals in the 59th and 70th minute to lead Blackhills to a 3-0 win over AC Chehalem Valley. The Shelton, Washington native helped Blackhills improve to 2-1-0 this season and they are tied with Yakima and Vancouver on points this season.

Defensive:

Lyric Tinnel – Blackhills FC: Lyric Tinnel made 13 saves in a back and forth game that featured 29 shots on goal total between the two teams and posted Blackhills’ first shutout of the season. The Olympia High School graduate, along with Covert, helped Blackhills to their second straight win over AC Chehalem Valley and a 2-1-0 record at the halfway point of the season.

Other Nominees:

Offensive: Natalie Nagle (Yakima), Lybian Sosa Castro (Chehalem Valley)

Defensive: Enya Hernandez (Chehalem Valley)

Week 3 Recap: Yakima, Blackhills Pick Up Saturday Wins

Yakima United 3, Vancouver Victory 2

Natalie Nagle scored the game winner in the 87th minute to lead Yakima United to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Victory at SOZO Sports in Yakima on Saturday afternoon. The game was a back and forth affair with Vancouver’s Maddie Goss striking first in the 19th minute. Six minutes later, Yakima equalized when Isabelle Moultray found Gillian Martin for a goal in the 25th minute. The two teams went to the break knotted up at one.

Vancouver jumped out to a lead right away in the second half with Chloe Harris giving the Victory their second goal in the 49th minute. But the Hoppers had the answer 13 minutes later with Delaney Romero’s equalizer from Martin in the 62nd minute. The two teams battled for the next 25 minutes until Nagle struck with the game winner in the 87th to give Yakima their second win of the season.

Both Vancouver and Yakima moved to 2-1-0 at the halfway point of the NWPL season.

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GOALS: ’19 – Maddie Goss – Vancouver, ’25 – Gillian Martin (Isabelle Moultray) – Yakima, ’49 – Chloe Harris – Vancouver, ’62 – Delaney Romero (Martin) – Yakima, ’87 – Natalie Nagle – Yakima

Blackhills FC 3, AC Chehalem Valley 0

Niki Covert scored twice and Lyric Tinnel kept a clean sheet and Blackhills picked up their second win of the season with a 3-0 win over AC Chehalem Valley in Newberg on Saturday night. Madison Spenker struck first for Blackhills in the first half off a pass from Payton Aselton. Covert scored both of her goals in the second half, her first coming in the 59th minute with an assist by Jocelyn Charette and her second in the 70th minute with an assist from Spenker.

Blackhills moved to 2-1-0 this season while AC Chehalem Valley are still looking for their first win at 0-3-0.

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GOALS: Madison Spenker (Payton Aselton) – Blackhills, ’59 – Niki Covert (Jocelyn Charette) – Blackhills, ’70 – Covert (Spenker) – Blackhills

Players Of Week 2: Penner and Sadler

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  Penner (Center) | Photo: Blackhills FC

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  Sadler | Photo: Eastern Washington Athletics

Defensive:

Lulu Sadler – Vancouver: The Vancouver Victory took an early lead in the Northwest Premier League table thanks to a 3-1 win over Yakima United. Camas native Lulu Sadler was instrumental as an outside back in shutting down Yakima’s attack and added a goal of her own in a solid performance for the Victory.

Offensive:

Caroline Penner – Blackhills: Blackhills FC picked up their first win of the new season on Saturday with a 5-2 win over AC Chehalem Valley. Caroline Penner, a junior at Capital High School, scored twice on her home field and created goal scoring opportunities for her teammates.

Other Nominees:

Defensive: Landrey McCann (Blackhills)

Offensive: Lauren Robideau (Chehalem Valley), Rachel Anderson (Vancouver)

Week 2 Recap: Blackhills and Vancouver Take The Spoils

AC Chehalem Valley’s first road squad

Blackhills 5, AC Chehalem Valley 2

A freewheeling first half featured goals by Jocelyn Charette and Mel Alvarado that gave Blackhills a 2-0 lead before AC Chehalem Valley answered back with strikes by Maria Frias and Lauren Robideau tied the game, 2-2, in the 43rd. But Blackhills answered right back with a goal a minute later and would add two more in the second half to take the win, 5-2. Caroline Penner scored what proved to be the game winner in the 44th and added another in the 60th and Claire Fleckstein added the insurance goal in the 70th.

GOALS: ‘8 – Jocelyn Charette – Blackhills, ’28 – Mel Alvarado – Blackhills, ’39 – Maria Frias – Chehalem, ’43 – Lauren Robideau – Chehalem, ’44 – Caroline Penner (Liz Clemens) – Blackhills, ’60 – Caroline Penner (Landrey McCann) – Blackhills, ’70 – Claire Fleckstein (Lauren Forster) – Blackhills

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Vancouver Victory 3, Yakima United 2

The Vancouver Victory moved to 2-0-0 in the Northwest Premier League after goals by Maya Davis, Paige German and a penalty kick by Lulu Sadler led to a 3-1 win at Harmony Sports in Vancouver. Lauryn Peters scored the lone goal for Yakima.

GOALS (no minutes reported): Maya Davis (Olivia Fothergill) – Vancouver, Paige German (Rachel Anderson) – Vancouver, Lulu Sadler (PK) – Vancouver, Lauryn Peters (Natalie Nagle) – Yakima

Players Of Week 1: McClellan and Terrill

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  Photo credit: Warner Pacific Athletics

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  Photo credit: Eastern Washington Athletics

Defensive:

Makenna McClellan – Vancouver: Vancouver played their first game under the Victory moniker and Warner Pacific alum Makenna McClellan made seven saves in a solid performance that finished in a 1-0 shutout victory over AC Chehalem Valley.

Offensive:

Grace Terrill – Yakima: Grace Terrill scored in the 6th, 16th, 79th and 84th minutes to lead Yakima to a resounding 5-1 win over Blackhills. Terrill, a Ronald, Washington native who plays collegiately at Eastern Washington University, scored her four goals on road in Olympia.

Other Nominees:

Defensive: Eleanor Schmid (Vancouver), Jordyn Jolley (Yakima)

Week 1 Recap: Vancouver Victorious, Yakima Wins Big

Vancouver Victory 1, AC Chehalem Valley 0

AC Chehalem Valley made their long awaited debut in the Northwest Premier League against the Vancouver Victory, who were playing their first game under a new moniker after playing as the Washington Timbers previously. Vancouver got the better of the two new squads on Saturday in Newberg, Oregon with a goal by Olivia Forturgall in the 21st minute. It was the lone goal scored against Chehalem Valley’s Enya Hernandez but she was bested by Vancouver’s Makenna McClellan, who posted a shutout in her season debut.

GOALS: ’21 – Olivia Fortugall – Vancouver

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Yakima United 5, Blackhills 1

Grace Terrill scored four times to lead Yakima United to a 5-1 win over Blackhills in Olympia on Saturday afternoon. 2017 and 2019 NWPL Golden Boot winner Lauryn Peters added a goal to push her career total to 26 goals over four seasons. Terrill started the scoring quickly with goals in the 6th and 16th minutes before Hallie Bergford made it a one goal game in the 44th. But Peters made it 3-1 five minutes into the second half and then Terrill exploded for two more goals down the stretch to finish Blackhills off.

GOALS: ‘6 – Grace Terrill – Yakima, ’16 – Terrill – Yakima, ’44 – Hallie Bergford – Blackhills, ’50 – Lauryn Peters – Yakima, ’79 – Terrill – Yakima, ’84 – Terrill (PK) – Yakima

Northwest Premier League Releases 2021 Schedule

The Northwest Premier League will play a 2021 season with four teams participating, playing six games each beginning on Saturday, June 5th. The season will wrap up on Saturday, July 24th and the team with the best record at the end of the season will be crowned champion.

The four teams participating in the abbreviated season are AC Chehalem Valley, Blackhills FC, Vancouver Victory and Yakima United. All four teams kick off the season on June 5th with a home game for Blackhills against Yakima in Olympia and the long awaited first league home game for AC Chehalem Valley against Vancouver.

Capital FC Atletica, Crossfire United, Oly-Pen Force, Seattle Stars, Twin City Union, Washington Premier have all elected to sit out the 2021 season and will be welcomed back in 2022.

To see the full schedule, click here.

Northwest Premier League Cancels 2020 Season

Northwest Premier League member clubs voted unanimously on Thursday afternoon to cancel the 2020 season due to complications and obstacles related to COVID-19. We are saddened to make this announcement, but after thoughtful consideration by league members, the health and safety of our players, staff, supporters, league referees and the community in general comes first and the restrictions put on all of us would make it challenging to conduct our season and maintain the quality product the NWPL is known for.

NWPL clubs would like to say thank you to everybody in the Northwest doing their part to fight the spread of this virus, from medical professionals, to grocery store workers, delivery drivers and others providing essential services and to everybody practicing social distancing during this trying time. We will be back in 2021 to provide you with premier amateur women’s soccer across Washington and Oregon.

Stay home, stay healthy, and take care.

NWPL Coronavirus/COVID-19 Statement

The Northwest Premier League (“NWPL”), an elite, adult, amateur women’s soccer league in Washington and Oregon, continues to monitor the Coronavirus situation within our states and throughout our country. We are committed to doing whatever we can to ensure the safety of our players, staff and surrounding communities. The NWPL is also dedicated to providing a place for our local and collegiate players to play and improve their abilities during the summer. With these two concerns as our focus, and in following our current governmental mandates, we are suspending the start of the NWPL season with the hopes of being able to play a modified 2020 season. We will continue to monitor the situation and update our league and our fans with any new information as it develops.

In the meantime, it is important to all of us to not only stay safe but that we are able to support our local communities. Please feel free to reach out to your local club with questions and comments and we will do what we can to support everyone within the league and within the local communities.

Washington Timbers To Compete As Vancouver Victory, Name Westermann Head Coach

Northwest Premier League founding member and 2017 NWPL champion Washington Timbers FC announced earlier this month that the team will compete as the Vancouver Victory, joining the Evergreen Premier League men’s team under the Victory badge. Here is the press release from the Timbers/Victory…

The Washington Timbers Women’s First team will now be known as the Vancouver Victory Women joining the Victory Men and the Victory Northern Alliance under the Victory badge. Created in 2017 as founding members of the NW Premier League (NWPL), the Women’s first team provides the highest level of play for female soccer players in SW Washington.

The Women’s first team has a fantastic record of success and looks to build upon that success as the Victory Women. Winning the championship in the inaugural NWPL season and reaching the finals the following year was the ideal way to set the standard for this group.

Victory General Manager and Washington Timbers Executive Director Sean Janson has this to say about the new name, “The arrival of the Victory men to our community in 2014 brought forth a new opportunity for amateur players to compete at the highest level in SW Washington. Having coached for the Victory from 2014-2016 I knew first hand of the quality of play and players involved. It was an easy decision to bring in the Women’s team when the NWPL started in 2017. Having the women under the Victory badge will streamline many processes and strengthen the Victory brand. In addition, we’re also very pleased to add the Northern Alliance men’s team under the Victory umbrella as well.”

As the only jersey sponsor the Victory have ever known, Muchas Gracias Mexican Food will now also sponsor the Women’s and Northern Alliance squads. Their support is a driving factor behind the expansion of the Victory brand and the strengthening of elite amateur soccer in SW Washington.

The Victory also announced that Warner Pacific head coach Josh Westermann  has been named to the same position with the Victory women. Previous to his stint in Portland, he spent five years as an assistant at San Diego Christian and was an assistant coach on the Kenyan Women’s National Team.

“(I am) overwhelmed and humbled by this opportunity,” said Westermann, “A special thanks to Sean Janson and the Vancouver Victory for bringing me on board. Looking forward to offering a great experience to many aspiring and current college players at this high level”.

The Victory will host an open tryout on April 17th from 7:00-8:30 at the Harmony Sports Complex.

Crossfire United Named 10th Northwest Premier League Club

BREMERTON, Wash. – The Northwest Premier League is proud to announce our third team in the great State of Oregon and second new club for the 2020 season, Crossfire United. Oregon’s top-ranked ECNL program will expand their program to take on a new challenge and give their players and alumni a new opportunity during the summer. The team will play their home games out of Mountain View Champions Park in Aloha.

“Being a part of the Northwest Premier League enables a place for our players and alumni to come back and play in a environment that will prepare them and keep them sharp for college,” said Crossfire United Director of Programs Kevin Legg.

“We have been successful in the ECNL platform so I am excited to see how our girls compete together with the different ages and expect it to be a challenging yet exciting season.”

Alumni of the Crossfire United program play at schools such as the University of Oregon, Oregon State, Stony Brook University, the University of Nevada Reno, amongst others.

Crossfire United is the elite division for Tualatin Hills United Soccer Club and was formed as a partnership between Crossfire Oregon and THUSC. They will play their home games at Mountain View Champions Park in Aloha, which features two turf fields, restrooms and concessions.

You can follow Crossfire United by visiting their website at www.crossfireunitedecnl.com, like them on Facebook at FB.com/CrossfireUnitedECNL or follow them on Twitter at @CrossfireUnited

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ABOUT THE NORTHWEST PREMIER LEAGUE: The Northwest Premier League (NWPL) is an elite, adult, amateur women’s soccer league featuring Northwest clubs across the states of Washington and Oregon. The league currently sits at ten clubs: AC Chehalem Valley (Newberg, OR), Blackhills FC (Olympia, WA), Capital FC Atletica (Salem, OR), Crossfire United (Aloha, OR), Oly-Pen Force (Bremerton, WA), Seattle Stars, Twin City Union (Centralia, WA), Washington Premier (Puyallup, WA), Washington Timbers (Vancouver, WA), Yakima United. The Seattle Stars are the two time defending champions.

AC Chehalem Valley Joins Northwest Premier League

BREMERTON, Wash. – The Northwest Premier League is proud to announce that the league will be expanding for the 2020 season and that AC Chehalem Valley of Newberg, Oregon has been named the ninth NWPL club. Chehalem Valley joins Capital FC Atletica as the second club in the State of Oregon and has already made a mark in the soccer world with their active social media presence and focus on philanthropy in Newberg and beyond.

“For AC Chehalem Valley, and our fast-growing following, this is incredibly exciting,” said club Founder Joshua Duder. “While Portland is well-known for its soccer pedigree and for being the epicenter of support in Oregon, our region which is only 45 minutes south by southwest, is home to several independent youth organizations and has a unique soccer culture which we hope to showcase. The girls and women involved at club, high school, and college level soccer here, are champing at the bit to show off what representing Yamhill County and the Chehalem Valley means to them.”

Chehalem Valley will play their home games at Newberg High School. The high school’s stadium has covered seating, a large press box, a concessions stand, restrooms, locker rooms, and a new turf field. With a spot in the league and a place to call home, the club will now focus on building their 2020 team with ambitious but realistic goals.

“I don’t think any sporting organization goes into a season not hoping for the very best,” continued Duder, “But there are some very well-built clubs in the league and we may be a year or two away from competing for the title; however, the playoffs are always within reach and I think setting that as a goal is perfectly acceptable. We’ve watched the league keenly for a few years, but expect an entirely different experience now that we’re no longer on the outside looking in.”

Founded as an independent, non-profit club with the mission of “using sport to improve the physical and mental wellness of women in our community,” the club has already made connections with other non-profits including The Sports Bra Project to collect brand new equipment for girls and women who might not otherwise be able to play sports without it. They also teamed up with other bird-branded football clubs to raise money for the National Audobon Society. And the team has worked hard to get off the ground and ensure they will be around for years to come.

“Our primary sponsor is First Federal Savings & Loan, who agree with our sentiment of taking care of our community first,” said Duder. “And they’ve teamed-up with Puma to ensure the club is outfitted and that thousands of dollars of seed money is available.” Our aim is to provide a competitive squad for women to extend their athletic careers, but also to make the world a better place.”

Follow AC Chehalem Valley as their prepare for their inuagural Northwest Premier League season by visiting their website at acchehalemvalley.com, like them on Facebook at FB.com/ACCVSheFlies, or follow them on Twitter @ACCV_SheFlies

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ABOUT THE NORTHWEST PREMIER LEAGUE: The Northwest Premier League (NWPL) is an elite, adult, amateur women’s soccer league featuring Northwest clubs across the states of Washington and Oregon. The league currently sits at nine clubs: AC Chehalem Valley (Newberg, OR), Blackhills FC (Olympia, WA), Capital FC Atletica (Salem, OR), Oly-Pen Force (Bremerton, WA), Seattle Stars, Twin City Union (Centralia, WA), Washington Premier (Puyallup, WA), Washington Timbers (Vancouver, WA), Yakima United. The Seattle Stars are the two time defending champions.

NWPL Announces 2019 Season Awards

The Northwest Premier League held their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday afternoon at Well 80 Brewhouse in downtown Olympia and announced four awards for the 2019 season as voted on by league members: Golden Boot, Golden Gloves, Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

Whitney Pitalo

Player of the Year: Whitney Pitalo (Capital FC Atletica) – The founder, director and captain of the Capital FC Atletica program, Whitney Pitalo took on even more responsibility this season as a goal scorer. Needing to replace the firepower of Laadi Issaka, Pitalo stepped up and scored seven regular season goals, finishing in a tie for second place with Washington Premier’s Angela Celedon. But her versatility is what impressed coaches the most and earned her the NWPL’s 2019 Player of the Year playing all over the field and leading her team to a 7-1-0 regular season finish and a championship game appearance.

The South Salem High School alum and University of Southern California defender played wherever she was needed during the 2019 season. She earned an Offensive Player of the Week Award in week five with a two goal, one assist performance in a 4-1 win over the Oly-Pen Force. Her performance on the field was impressive, especially when combined with her leadership of the club, and of course, when asked about her Player of the Year Award, she extolled the virtues of her club and community rather than speak about herself.

“This year with an amazing World Cup we had a lot of extra attention to draw on, but I believe women’s soccer was already on the rise,” said Pitalo. “In our third year, we had many more supporters and volunteers. The World Cup felt like a celebration of where women’s soccer has come and where it’s going. I think that’s when I started to realize that it’s not just players who loves the game, but the community wants to be a part of it. It was a special year and I only see growth from here.”

Pitalo will take her experience building Capital FC Atletica to Roseburg this fall as their new Assistant Athletic Director and she will be involved in founding the new Umpqua Community College women’s soccer program. While she doesn’t rule out coming back and playing for CFC if her schedule permits, it is possible that she will bow out on top with the league’s top award.

Lauryn Peters

Golden Boot: Lauryn Peters (Yakima United) – 2017’s Golden Boot winner and Player of the Year, Lauryn Peters, did it again and ran away with the 2019 Golden Boot Award, scoring 12 goals in the six regular season games that she played in, leading the Hoppers to their best record as a club (5-3-0), their first home playoff game, and their first playoff win.

Peters, a Yakima native and West Valley High School product, returned home from college at Western Illinois early in the morning on Sunday, May 12th and made her first appearance for United just hours later contributing two goals including what proved to be the game winner in their 4-2 win over the Washington Timbers. A week later, Peters scored four times to earn Player of the Week for week three. She won the award again in week eight after a three goal weekend.

“Lauryn has proven herself to be one of the most dangerous forwards in the league,” said Yakima head coach Josh Vega. “And the truth is she’s so much than just a goal scorer. She’s one of the real leaders on our team.”

Her 12 goals in 2019 brings her grand total in Northwest Premier League action up to 26, where she comfortably has the record for most career goals. A junior at NCAA Division I Western Illinois, she has played every single minute of the Leathernecks first five games.

Makenzie Pineda with teammates

Golden Gloves: Makenzie Pineda (Capital FC Atletica) – By posting three shutouts over Capital FC Atletica’s first five games, and allowing just two goals during that time en route to a 5-0-0 start, Makenzie Pineda earned the NWPL’s 2019 Golden Gloves Award for the first time.

Pineda, an American Fork, Utah native and BYU-Hawaii alum that is also the goalkeeping coach for Capital FC Timbers youth program, held down the roll for the first five games of the season before a family vacation took her away from the team and other commitments made her unavailable for Sunday games. According to CFC Director and teammate Whitney Pitalo, she very much wanted to play in the playoffs but was not available because their playoff games were scheduled on Sundays. In just those five games, Pineda tied for the league lead in shutouts with Washington Premier’s Kyla Carter.

“Playing for your teammates, coaches, family, club, school, or community is much more FUN than playing for yourself,” said Pineda.

Josh Vega with NWPL President Micah McMonagle

Coach of the Year: Josh Vega (Yakima United) – The only remaining original Northwest Premier League coach, Yakima United’s Josh Vega put together his squad’s best season and first playoff win and earned the 2019 NWPL Coach of the Year Award for the first time.

Yakima United finished the season with a 5-3-0 record and a fourth place regular season finish and hosted their first playoff game, knocking off the Twin City Union to advance to the semifinals. It has been a natural progression for Vega and the Hoppers. They finished 4-5-3 in the first season of the NWPL and then followed that up with two three win seasons despite seeing improvement every year.

This season, Vega’s squad put it all together despite the challenges that go with playing in Yakima. For example: Yakima Valley College’s Sophie Painter won the Defensive Player of the Week award in week three and promptly left the club once school ended to return home on the west side of the state. But Vega and United built the depth and the talent this season necessary to withstand losses and were able to back up Lauryn Peters’ outstanding offensive season with a solid defense that gave up just 13 goals, their least as a club in four seasons.

“I’m very honored to be awarded the Coach of the Year Award,” said Vega. “We had a great season, our best yet, so obviously people will recognize the progress we’ve built over our four seasons. I’m just really happy to be a part of this league and coaching this group of great women from all over our valley.”

Vega has a lot on his plate with United.  He has to juggle coaching the Yakima women with directing the whole Hoppers club with dealing with the registration for the NWPL and EPLWA in his role with the Washington State Adult Soccer Association.

PHOTO GALLERY: Stars Repeat As NWPL Champions

The Seattle Stars knocked off Capital FC Athletica 4-0 on Sunday afternoon to win their second straight Northwest Premier League championship. It was a great afternoon of soccer at French Field in Kent with the two best teams, one from the north and one from the south, representing the league. Isabella Castro was named the Finals MVP with two goals for Seattle, who have now won 20 straight games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season. Read the full recap of the final here.

Seattle Stars Repeat As NWPL Champions With 4-0 Win Over Capital FC

KENT, Wash. – Isabella Castro came off the bench to score two goals to lead the Seattle Stars to their second Northwest Premier League championship in as many seasons with a 4-0 win over Capital FC Atletica on Sunday afternoon at French Field. Stars goalkeeper Drew Moulton picked up the shutout and the Stars finished off a second straight unbeaten season with another trophy.

The game was delayed nearly 30 minutes due to travel issues for Capital FC, but out of the box, Atletica looked like the aggressor dominating possession for the first 15 minutes of play. But Seattle got their bearings and it was a former Capital FC forward Rita Okoro who put the Stars on top with a bullet from the top of the box in the 20th minute.

On a hot day with the temperature on the turf at French Field reaching nearly 100 degrees, the referee stopped play for a water break in the 25th minute. Almost immediately after play resumed, Isabella Castro unleashed a shot that looked to be heading wide of the goal that somehow spun on frame, barely caught the post and ricocheted into the net for the Stars second goal of the game. The University of Washington senior then scored her second goal just seven minutes later to give the Stars a 3-0 in the 35th minute. For her two goal performance, Castro was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.

Isabella Castro gets her MVP award

Capital FC goalkeeper Alyssa Flores, making her first start of the season, kept the game close with numerous big saves on shots that could have blown the game wide open at any time in the first half. With her keeping the lead to just three goals at the start of the second half, Capital again started off by dominating possession, generating a handful of opportunities against the vaunted Stars defense.

But without anything to show for it and frustration mounting, the Stars turned it on again and made Flores make another couple of outstanding saves before Morgan Castain drove one past her in the 72nd minute to cap off the scoring. Capital could not mount a late comeback and Seattle finished off the shutout to win the championship, 4-0.

The new NWPL Championship trophy, by The Woodcraft Studio

Led by head coach Chris Wells, the Seattle Stars have now won 20 straight games since their 2017 championship game loss to the Washington Timbers and have allowed just six goals in the process. They have outscored their opponents by 61 goals during their two championship seasons.

Capital FC Atletica finished their season with eight regular season and playoff wins and just two losses, both of them coming to the Stars at French Field.

Capital FC Atletica, 2019 Finalists

Seattle Stars goals: Isabella Castro (’28 & ’35), Rita Okoro (’20), Morgan Castain (’72)
Capital FC Atletica goals: None