United they stand: Youth soccer team headed to state championships

MOSES LAKE - A rough-and-tumble first season in the top level of the Washington State Youth Soccer Association is nearing an end for the Columbia Basin United 93 Navy.

The Navy, a group of 13- and 14-year-old boys, is the first squad to achieve Premier Division 1 status in United program history. They finished at 6-6-2 this season and are preparing for the state championship cup that begins Jan. 19.

The team had to battle through what head coach Rian Allred termed a "very difficult last part of the season." Navy lost three starters for various off-the-field reasons, meaning they were a bit shorthanded during a couple close losses in past month.

Last Saturday, the team traveled to Tahoma High School in Covington to face the Maple Valley Soccer Club Rapids. Navy took an early 1-0 lead before the Rapids tied it at halftime, then scored the game-winner off a header with about 20 minutes to play.

Columbia Basin also lost a 1-0 game to the Issaquah Soccer Club Arsenal on Dec. 8. The back-to-back losses to end the regular season means Navy dropped from the second seed to the fifth seed entering the World Cup-style state championship.

Navy opens the state event on Jan. 19 against the Renton Thunderbirds, a 2 p.m. kickoff at Moses Lake's Kvamme Soccer Complex. Columbia Basin is in a pool with Renton, Seattle's Emerald City Football Club and Bellevue's Eastside Football Club. The teams will play each other in a round-robin, with the top two advancing to a winner-take-all finale.

The state champion advances to the Far West Regionals in Hawaii, and Allred likes his team's chances of getting there.

"It's been our saying to 'dream big,'" Allred said. "Obviously, we're going to be playing some pretty good competition."

Allred's team has already overcome long odds, however. They won last season's Commissioner's Cup despite being underdogs, then achieved the goal of being Columbia Basin's first Premier 1 team.

The Navy is comprised of Alex Allsbrook, Damiano Cacchiotti, Eddie Carillo, Adolfo Cortez, Martin Cortez, Tyler Delong, Derrick Gonzales, Jordan Gonzalez, Manraj Jhutty, Rafael Martinez, AJ Montes, Bryce Perez, Bryton Redal, Kurtis Spotted Bear, Joe Timofeyev, Nick Tripp, Luis Villa and Connor Webb.