PHOENIX—The final matches of the bracket stage of the ODP West Championships have been played, which means that some of Sunday’s semifinal matchups have been determined, while bracket play continues for certain groups. Some Washington EPD teams came back from early losses to snag a spot in the semis or extend their journey, others continued their dominance from beginning to end, and others were sadly eliminated despite working incredibly hard and making our state proud all weekend. Luckily, nobody’s tournament isn’t completely over, as those not progressing or continuing bracket play will have a consolation match on Sunday. Check out our recap, photo gallery, and full results from yesterday’s matches if you missed it. Click the link above to see the full schedules and standings.
A strong showing in the morning game from Boys 03 WA continued into the afternoon as they went undefeated in the bracket stage to book their spot in the semis. Girls 03 WA drew their morning match 1-1 with Arizona despite notching an excellent goal, but bounced back with 3-0 win over Wyoming in the afternoon to top their bracket. Girls 04 EWA scored an epic early goal in their 2-1 win over Oregon to add to their day 1 victory, but a loss in the afternoon kept them from the top of the table. They still have a shot at topping their bracket with matches tomorrow against New Mexico and Arizona.
The Girls 06 WA squad capped off their bracket stage play with a 2-0 win over Northern Nevada; coach Shannon Matthews praised his team’s resilience in coming back from a game one loss to make it through to the next round. “We grinded out a gritty performance. We hit the bar five times, it wasn’t our best performance but there are going to be games like that. Credit to the girls for continuing to grind and put Northern Nevada out.” Matthews also praised one of his goalscorers for her part in the important win. “Quality goal from Maggie Dutra, she cut it back on her right foot at the top of the 18 and then slotted it into the bottom right corner, easily beating the keeper. Great, great goal.”
Girls 06 coach Shannon Matthews on his team’s 2-0 win! pic.twitter.com/HgyA4JeB7l
— WA Youth Soccer (@WAYouthSoccer) January 5, 2020
Elite competition at the highest level is often cruel and unforgiving, even to those who worked hard and gave everything to every minute of every match. Both Girls 07 squads picked up big wins on Saturday—WA with a 6-0 win over Arizona and EWA with a 3-0 defeat of Northern Nevada—to rack up 6 points in their brackets, but it wasn’t enough to put them through to the next round. It was especially heartbreaking on the G07 WA group, who came into this tournament as their division’s reigning champions. They’ll see some friendly faces in their consolation match, as they have been paired with their Eastern Washington EPD counterparts.
It was a close shave for Boys 04 WA after dropping points and picking up a 1-1 draw today against Idaho, but their important day one wins over Cal South and Southern Nevada was enough to secure top spot in the bracket and a ticket to the semis. The same was unfortunately not true for Boys 06 WA, who did everything they could on Saturday to make it through by winning their two matches by an aggregate score of 11-0, but Friday’s loss meant that their 6 points were only good enough for second place in the bracket.
Whether they’re through to the semis, continuing bracket stage play, or facing their consolation match on Sunday, all Washington Youth Soccer EPD teams have represented the state, and themselves, more than admirably. We hope to see many of our players called up to regional camps and beyond as they continue to pursue the beautiful game for years to come.
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