Crossfire Wins Rainier Challenge Championship
May 27, 2002
Puyallup, WA - The LWYSA Crossfire Premier '91 team, coached by Dick McCormick, continued their winning ways by capturing first place in the 2002 Rainier Challenge Tournament. This tourney is renowned for its tough competition, bringing some of the best teams together from around the region.
Crossfire remains unbeaten this season, winning all five of their games in this tournament with a goals margin of 22-6. They started strong by beating Puyallup Pride 8-1 in the opener on May 24 with four different girls scoring. In the second game they defeated a very good FC Marauders Drazic team 4-2 after opening up a 3-1 first period lead.
In their toughest match of the tournament, the Crossfire girls came from behind in the second period to beat Lightning, an outstanding Tri Cities team, 4-3. Leading 1-0 at the intermission, the Crossfire squad fell behind 1-3 as Lightning mounted a strong attack in the second period. With the game on the line and less than 10 minutes remaining, the Crossfire team did some attacking of their own with two strong goals that brought it back to a 3-3 tie. In a dramatic finish, with time running out, Crossfire scored the winning goal with a '"true to its name" cross-fire combination punch that made it 4-3. As play resumed at mid-field, time expired.
In the semi-finals, Crossfire beat the home town FC Royals team 3-0, scoring its first goal within the first three minutes of the period, and opening up a 3-0 lead at the half-way mark.
Later that same day, Crossfire took on Lightning in a rematch - this time for the tournament championship. Crossfire came out aggressive and determined this time, scoring a goal in the first two minutes. Crossfire carried that 1-0 lead into intermission, then added two insurance goals in the second period to cruise to its second championship of this early season.
With a year to date record of 10-0, and a combined goals margin of 42-7, Crossfire now turns its attention to their toughest challenge of the year - the July 4th weekend Portland Cup in Hillsboro, Oregon. That tourney promises some very tough competition featuring teams from all over the west.Crossfire Takes Snohomish Cup With 3-0 Championship Win
May 05, 2002
Snohomish, WA - LWYSA Crossfire Premier '91, coached by Dick McCormick, in their very first tournament play, cruised to victory, winning the Snohomish United Tournament today. This fiery upstart team went 5-0 in the tournament and ended up with a goals margin of 20-1.
In their opening match, Crossfire defeated a very good Badgers team 5-0. Leading 1-0 at half, the Crossfire girls opened up their game, with three different girls scoring in the second half.
Crossfire continued their success in the second game with a solid 4-0 victory over the FC Alliance Hotshots. The balanced attack of the Crossfire team was evidenced by the fact that four different players scored in the game.
Later that same day, Crossfire rolled into the semi-finals with a solid 5-0 victory over the host Snohomish United Whtie team.
In their first real test of the young season, and in their first taste of international competition, Crossfire continued their winning ways by defeating the West Vancouver Selects team 3-1 in their semi-final game. The Vancouver team proved to be tough competition for the Crossfire, but could not get closer than 2-1 in the 2nd period. Crossfire put away the game for good mid-way through the 2nd half with their third goal.
In the tournament final, Crossfire defeated NWN Nemesis 3-0. Played in a driving and frigid rain, both clubs displayed incredible fortitude in going hard for 60 minutes. Crossfire scored their first goal in the first three minutes of the game and never looked back. Their defense once again showed their domination by allowing no more than a handful of goal shots from NWN Nemesis the entire game. Congratulations, Nemesis, on the hard-fought game!