Defending Champs Kirkland FC up next for Steelheads

SMOKEY POINT, WA—El Steelheads FC del condado de Snohomish will travel to Bellevue Community College this Saturday June 8 for a 5:30 PM kick off against defending WWPL Champions Kirkland FC.

It will be the first meeting ever between the two clubs, and a return to BCC pitch for the Steelheads. Last week (June 1) SnoCo FC traveled to Bellevue only to see their match with BeSea FC cancelled when no referees showed up. The Goats of Kirkland and BeSea FC share the same home pitch. The Fish have not played since a 6-0 win over Lacey FC on May 26. Meanwhile the Goats have played three times, losing their first-ever league match, winning a Super Cup contest, and most recently falling 4-3 to XF Redmond in a league match on Thursday June 6.

Goats are Winners

The Kirkland Goats, whose roster includes many players and Alumni from Northwest University, won the 2018 WWPL title with an unbeaten 13-0-1 record. This year KFC bolted out to a 3-0-0 mark, stretching their unbeaten streak in league play to 17 matches. They finally were conquered on June 1 in a 3-2 home loss to Federal Way FC.

Steelheads changing roster

The Steelheads roster is an ever-evolving process. New players are in and some may feature in the 18 against the Goats. Goalkeeper guarida dorian (Shorewood), Defender Ridley Eastland-Fruit (Inglemoor), Defender Cameron Cohn (Edmonds Woodway) and Forward Randy Galvan (Marysville Pilchuck) have all recently registered. Longtime starting Defender Gunnar Stohl is stepping off the pitch for the summer.

Momentum Challenges

It’s hard to maintain momentum when matches are cancelled. The Steelheads may be rested for the trip to Kirkland, but they can’t afford to be ‘rusty.’ This result is an upper-table battle with consequences as to where the Fish will finish this campaign. Next weekend Snohomish County hosts table-toppers Nido Aguila Seattle on Fathers Day June 16 at 3 PM in Smokey Point. After that the club takes a break before its busiest month of the season. The Steelheads will play 4 league matches in July, 3 of them away.