OWOC: Year One - A Recap

Summer of 2021 - women’s teams in the Pacific Northwest, much like the rest of the soccer world, were limited by finances, available facilities, and participating opponents. The Women’s Premier Soccer League and Northwest Premier League were both affected by these limitations and the opportunities for meaningful competition were few. Ownership from AC Chehalem Valley, then of the NWPL, led the way, devising a plan to kickoff a new competition which would encourage the amateur women’s teams from the different levels of competition in Oregon, to come together and give their clubs a few extra matches for the summer.

United Women’s Soccer stepped in to cover the costs of the tournament and to give it a national stage, allowing the streams to be found on their ELEVEN (then MyCujoo) account. Additionally, UWS provided match balls as well as agreed to cover the player registration costs with USASA for any players who might not have already been registered. Along with AC Chehalem Valley, CFC Atletica and Crossfire United joined from NWPL - Eugene Timbers Azul and Westside Timbers (now Westside Metros) joined from the WPSL and OVF Alliance’s brand new women’s squad, which at the time was not league affiliated, made their competitive debut in the tournament.

Both WPSL clubs, due to their higher level of competition, were given a first round or quarterfinal round bye. CFC Atletica hosted Crossfire United in match number one and defeated them 3-2 in Salem; meanwhile, OVF Alliance hosted AC Chehalem Valley in Albany and, after going down 3-1 early, came back with a second-half hat trick and won 4-3 to advance to the Semi Finals.

In those Semi Finals, Eugene Timbers Azul gave up three goals to a rampant CFC Atletica and lost 3-1 - while Westside defeated OVF Alliance handedly 3-0 to set up the 2021 Final. Capital Futbol Club hosted the Final at John Chambers Field, in Salem, Oregon and the WPSL club, Westside Timbers, defeated CFC Atletica 1-0 to take home the inaugural OWOC Crystal Trophy

OWOC: Year Two

After the Crystal Trophy was given away, focus was given to completing their respective seasons and plans for a follow up competition where shelved while teams and leagues were sorted for the following six months. Once teams knew where they were shuffling to, a few reached out and asked if everyone else wanted to have another go. In February of 2022 United Women Soccer agreed to again cover the streaming costs of the competition and registration links were made available. Despite the hope of expanding the tournament from 6 to 8 teams, by the deadline of April 30th, only 6 teams made notice of their participation.

Crossfire United, who changed their name in the offseason to NW Elite, had dropped out of the NWPL and opted out of the tournament as well. Vancouver Victory, also of the Northwest Premier League were happy to take their place and joined the five clubs (AC Chehalem Valley, CFC Atletica, Eugene Timbers Azul, OVF Alliance Women, and Westside Metros) from last year’s tournament, to fill out this year’s bracket.

So far, in the quarterfinals, where both WPSL clubs again got first round byes, CFC Atletica eviscerated a 10-woman side AC Chehalem Valley 10-0 and Vancouver Victory narrowly defeated OVF Alliance 2-1 to advance to the Semi Finals. The whole tournament has been hosted at Capital Futbol Club’s home facility in Salem, and CFC Atletica took advantage of playing on their home turf by defeating the Eugene Timbers Azul in the Semis for a second year running, again 3-1. Also, just like last year, Westside Metros held their opponent scoreless in the Semis, defeating Vancouver Victory 2-0 to advance to the Final.

The UWS Oregon Women’s Open Cup Final, hosted by Capital Football Club, will be played on John Chambers Field in Salem, Oregon on Wednesday, June 29th at 8:00 pm (Pacific Time). Bella Footbal App, Sennza Construction LLC, and Oregon Sportsbeat have made the whole thing available on the ELEVEN app - just search for the matches under United Womens Soccer. If you’re within a reasonable driving distance to Capital Football Club’s facility, definitely get there for a great re-match of last year’s final between two of Oregon’s very best women’s soccer squads.

by Joshua Duder