SMOKEY POINT, WA— The Western Washington Premier League Champion Snohomish County FC Steelheads have been celebrating their title since it was clinched back on Sunday July 21. However the final WWPL table remained on hold until the fate of a Federal Way FC – Lacey FC match was decided. That match has now been awarded as a 1-0 forfeit home win for Federal Way, so the 2019 season is officially complete.
Tight at the top
The Steelheads won the league by a single point over Crossfire Redmond, proving how crucial the 1-0 win on July 18 really was. SnoCo FC finished 2 points ahead of Nido Aguila Seattle, showing that the 1-1 stalemate between the two in June helped Snohomish more than Nido. The Steelheads finished 5 points ahead of Narrows FC. Taking it all the way back to the first match of the season, this shows how big the 1-0 away win for the Fish in Tacoma was back on April 27.
Against the others in the Top Six
The Steelheads finished with a W-3 D-2 L-0 record against the other top six finishers. 2 of those 3 wins came away from home. At one point in all 5 of those matches Snohomish had 1-0 leads. Kirkland and Nido were able to rally for 1-1 draws.
Issaquah draw doesn’t prove fatal
For a long time the Steelheads looked back at a 2-2 draw against relegated club ISC Gunners (Issaquah) as a likely championship-costing match. It was a keen battle that saw Snohomish go up twice in the second half, 1-0 and 2-1, only to see ISC draw even on a late penalty kick conversion. It was 3 points the Fish wanted back all year long. In the end it made the numbers too close for comfort, but did not stop the club from winning it all.
Looking ahead to 2020
Now that the table is final the WWPL will schedule a meeting in the coming months to establish a structure and criteria for promotion and relegation between new First and Second Divisions. The general plan for the Steelheads and D1 is to play the other five clubs both home and away in another 10-match season.
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