A hat-trick of goals from Katie Wopat assisted by Saraid Faville helped FC’s U-17 Pride team reached their fourth consecutive OYSA State Cup final Saturday, May 29th, after defeating FC Portland Crimson 3-0 at Hillsboro High School. A commitment to open, attacking soccer, saw both teams create some early chances and both keepers make some solid saves. The Pride finally got the break they were looking for midway through the first half when Wopat scrambled in well-struck corner-kick from Faville.
Katie Wopat
Fifteen minutes into the second half the Pride extended their lead when Faville passed to Wopat on the edge of the penalty area and Wopat turned sharply to find the net with a deftest of left-footed chips. Despite going two-down the Portland team worked hard to get back into the game and but for some unfortunate finishing might have mounted a comeback. However, the game was put beyond their reach shortly before full-time when Wopat notched her third goal after getting behind the Crimson defense and slotting the ball into the corner.
Wopat, a native of Lebanon, joined the Pride team at the start of the 2000 winter season after a number of seasons with Portland’s Lake Oswego club. She will face some of her old club-mates in next Saturday’s State Cup final when the Pride will play LO (who defeated PCU in the
other semi-final game) at 4:00 p.m. on May 6th, 2000 at Hillsboro High School. The final will be the Pride’s 4th consecutive trip to the championship game. In the previous three finals they notched wins against PCU (1997) and LO (1998, 1999) to take the championship.
"All round, it was a very solid performance," says Tom Rowney, the Pride Coach. "Our squad was somewhat depleted with injuries to four players but I thought we coped quiet well. I was particularly pleased for Katie, who works tremendously hard at both practice and games. To get a hat-trick in the State semi’s against a strong side is quiet an achievement and given her commitment, well deserved. As a team, we’ve got some things to tighten up on for next week’s final, but we should be in good shape after a week’s training."
Posh reach 2nd Final in 3 Years
It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but the U-14 Posh team eventually broke down a solid defensive performance from the RVSC Storm to reach their 2nd OYSA State Cup final in 3 seasons. The Posh took the lead they never relinquished in the first half after Nicole Trickett made a scintillating run to get behind the Storm defense and crossed for Tiffany Smith to tap in the ball at the far post. Only a handful of solid chances were created in a game which the Posh dominated possession and, but for a short spell where the Storm struck the woodwork twice from long range, had the edge in scoring chances.
Kelli Cronkrite in particular, was unlucky not to bag one or two goals. As semi-finals go this was a typical one – hard fought, few mistakes to capitalize upon, and won with a goal of quality that transcended the general run of play. The Posh will play LO Fushion in the final, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on May 6th, 2000 at Hillsboro High School. This is the same LO team the Posh defeated 2-0 in the 1988 State Championship game. Both teams have met several times in the past 3 seasons with the Posh having the edge in wins but based on the excellent recent performances of both teams you can expect a close game in the final.