EVERETT — Yakima United F.C. players drenched coach Sergio Licona Jr. and team president Hector Vega in water as the final whistle blew for full time on Saturday night at Archbishop Murphy High School to conclude the men’s semi-professional Evergreen Premier League (EPLWA) title game.
The Hoppers made the three-hour drive from eastern Washington seeking to win their first EPLWA trophy after losing finishing as runners-up last year to Spokane Shadow. Yakima United not only redeemed themselves this year, but they also did it in dominating fashion, routing Everett Jets F.C. 6-1.
Yakima netted four goals in the first half with three occurring between the 13th and 17th minutes; they added two more goals in the beginning 20 minutes of the second half. Right forward Gonzalo Frausto recorded a hat trick, center forward Missael Lopez scored two goals, and center back Jose Marquez scored one.
On June 8 at Archbishop Murphy High School, the Jets topped the Hoppers 4-1, so Yakima got sweet revenge as well.
“I was just a fan last year, and they brought me in this year. I came in kind of late, so our start of the season was a little slow,” said Licona Jr. who concluded his first year as Yakima’s coach and was also an assistant coach for the Columbia Basin College men’s soccer team when they were NWAC champions in 2022. “We had a good core returning. … Losing to Spokane last year, especially the way we lost (4-0), it stuck with these guys. And they came in ready, knowing that they could compete with anyone. We did lose three guys that ended up playing USL 2 and stuff, and that was a big hit. But these guys adjusted and were up for the task.
“We knew how (Everett) kind of played, especially with their front three. We knew they kind of wanted to run, what kind of runs they like to make and stuff, so we game planned to really neutralize and take that away And then it was like, ‘Can you guys beat us in the middle?’” he added. “And I thought my guys were just that good where I let them each man up. … This field is a little more narrow, so we knew that maybe (Everett’s) outside backs are not going to be there in the outlets. So we’re like, ‘Hit those long, direct, good 50/50 (passes) or let our guy win on the flick off.’ … They hadn’t seen our forward from last time, so we knew it would be a little different matchup.
“It was just so fun” Licona Jr. said. “I’ve coached high school, college, everything, and this was the funnest I’ve had … just because it was my guys, and it felt special.”
Marquez tallied the first goal of the game after the ball rebounded to him from an Everett defender’s header.
About two minutes later, Frausto struck a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner, just off the fingertips of Jets goalkeeper Justin Rodriguez. Frausto notched another goal a minute later after his shot rolled under Rodriguez and kissed the left post on its way in.
Lopez’s goal arrived just a few minutes before halftime after Everett defender Noah Baer misdirected the header into the space where Lopez was running.
There also was some drama before halftime when Jets center forward Muhammed Darboe was red carded after shoving a Hoppers player in retaliation for being tripped.
Yakima took advantage of a 10-player Everett squad in the second half as Lopez beat a Jets defender and netted his second goal off an assist by goalkeeper Luis Birrueta in the 57th minute. Frausto ended the scoring in the 64th minute after he scored from a cross delivered into the 18-yard box.
A few minutes before Yakima’s final goal, Everett got on the board from Ignacio Brandan’s right-footed shot into the bottom right corner to eliminate the Hoppers’ clean sheet and give Jets fans some pride.
The Hoppers went down to 10 players late in the game after left forward Mario Negrete was given a second yellow card.
Both teams were not strong favorites entering the postseason. Since the league’s inception in 2014, Yakima and Everett combined to make only three championship appearances. Saturday was Everett’s first after losing in the semifinals the past three years, and it was Yakima’s second.
The Jets filed into the league in 2019 but didn’t begin their first season until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. After losing in the quarterfinals their inaugural season, then making it to the semifinals the next three years and title game this season, Everett’s progression has been commendable.
“My preparation for the game was try to keep things as simplistic as possible. … Make sure that they were in good spirits, weren’t too high, weren’t too low, which we pretty much have been through the whole season,” said first-year Jets coach John Buttle. “It wasn’t our best showing defensively, but I got to give credit to my back line throughout the season. They’ve done fantastic all the way through. They’ve been ironclad when it comes to their defensive shape, their responsibilities, winning balls in the air, all that type of stuff. It wasn’t our day, and you just got to tip your hat to Yakima.
“The performance was abnormal … given that throughout the tenure and the body of work that we’ve had, we’ve been pretty consistent defensively, and one or two mistakes cost us,” he added. “What’s the difference between losing 2-1 to 6-1? You got to press when you’re down a man. You got to try to make something happen. But credit to Yakima. … They were in the championship last year, and they didn’t win it. And I don’t know if it’s a chip on their shoulder, but they obviously remember what it feels to lose an important match like that, and they capitalized on getting back here. … One of my assistant coaches did mention it was brilliant that Yakima lost the game, they remembered and now they got back here, and they won it. So that’s a great model for us. The institution is still young, and I think that we’ve been growing, and that’s important progress.”
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