Youth team captures state title

One of three local youth soccer teams that made the Washington Youth Soccer Association’s Presidents’ Cup state soccer tournament has brought home a title.

The North Bend United boys U-16 team, coached by Greg Roark, overcame cold, snowy conditions and a comeback by their opponents, the Tornados from Shelton in Mason County, to take the crown in the championship game Sunday, Dec. 14, at the newly expanded Starfire soccer complex in Tukwila.

The United took a 2-0 lead into halftime of the contest, with goals from Max Brown and Nick Han. However, things changed in a big way soon afterwards.

North Bend was forced to change goalkeepers at the halftime break, as starter Dillon Oord had to be taken out of the game following a collision with a Tornados player; Oord was replaced by Zach Stevens, and Shelton went to work. They scored a pair of goals in the second half to send the game into overtime.

Overtimes in this tournament were two 15-minute halves, with no ‘golden’ sudden death goal, similar to how high school games are played (two five-minute overtimes with no ‘golden’ goal). United scored in the first overtime session, as Brown took a feed from Zach Miller and rammed it home to put the North Bend team in the lead 3-2. Stevens and the defense then went to work, holding off the Tornados in the second overtime session, and finished the job. The final was 3-2, allowing United to bring home the state title.

United was the lone local team that made the state finals; the other two teams representing the Snoqualmie Valley Youth Soccer Association in the tournament, a boys U-12 team also coached by Roark and a girls U-14 team coached by Jim and Jody Larson, made it to the state semifinals in Burlington.

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