Malia Arrant and Jimmy Dunn agreed that the results weren’t exactly what they wanted.
But the experience certainly was.
Their teams – Arrant’s Dosveedanya 93 Red girls, and Dunn’s South County Futbol Club Fury boys, both with players from Covington and Maple Valley schools – returned home from Virginia last week after playing three games apiece in the U.S. Club Soccer National Cup tournament. Both sides are part of their respective top-level select clubs in the Kent Youth Soccer Association.
Dosveedanya came home with a 1-1-1 record in U-14 Super Division play, bouncing back from a first-round loss (2-1 to Michigan Rush NIke) to earn a victory (2-0 against the Eastern FC Cheetahs of Connecticut) and a tie (1-1 against Fort Worth FC).
“The competition was good – we hadn’t played teams from that far out of state before,” Arrant said. “It was nice to see that we can compete with teams from out of state.”
The Fury boys had some rough going, falling 2-0 to Davis Legacy SC International of Northern California, 2-0 to Team America FC of Virginia, and 2-0 to Middlepath United FC of New York.
“We had our chances. We had a corner kick in one game where we had five chances (to score) – it just didn’t fall for us,” said Dunn, whose team competed in the U-14 Premier Division. “The difference between the caliber of play at regionals (in Boise, which the Fury won to qualify for the National Cup) and nationals was a quantum leap. We need to get used to that – the improved standard of play individually and collectively, we needed that experience.”
Dosveedanya’s girls nearly had a victory in its opener, clinging to a 1-0 lead for most of the game. But Michigan tied it with five minutes left, then scored on a free kick with about 45 seconds remaining to win it.
The Kent crew came back to blank their Connecticut counterparts the next day, with Sarah Bindl earning the shutout in goal. The following day against Fort Worth – the third straight day of 90-degree heat, according to Arrant – Dosveedanya hung on for the tie.
The Federal Way Reign 93 Purple, which also was part of the six-team bracket, came home with the crown.
“We were one of the better teams there hoping to win it,” said Arrant, whose team arrived home about 2 a.m. last Wednesday morning after a flight delay, then proceeded to go 2-0-1 over the next two days in the Washington Games Soccer Showcase at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. “We didn’t have that national experience. But next year, we’ll do better.”
Dunn took a similar stance with his crew.
“The thing that I tried to make clear to them after the dust had settled was it’s not the final destination, it’s part of the journey,” Dunn said. “The momentary disappointment of the results isn’t final – or fatal. There’s a lot of good teams that didn’t make it to nationals – and we finished fourth.”
