Mercer Island Youth Soccer U16 Wins Snohomish Big Foot Tournament

club high-flyers Mercer Island United opened their 2012-13 season by winning their age division at the Snohomish Big Foot tournament held on Aug. 15-19.

The Sunday, Aug. 19 championship final was played against the Washington Premier (WP) Fury, a Puyallup-based team Mercer Island's United has battled with over the years. After the four previous games and the soporific heat of the early Sunday afternoon, it was surprising to see the gusto that both teams brought to the final. A spirited opening 30 minutes saw M.I. United come through 1-0 up at halftime, with United enjoying more of the opportunities but unable to translate into goals — a fact which they would come to regret in the second half.

Both teams came out after the half with the same panache and United had a couple of early opportunities to put the game away but to no avail. As the game went, Mercer Island's early-season fitness flagged and the Fury pushed hard for an equalizer. Two outstanding, fully-stretched finger-tip saves by the United goalie, Evan Condon preserved the narrow lead. Nevertheless, United bent but never broke, and came out worthy winners.

To get to the final, United defeated FC Edmunds (1-0) in the tournament semis.

United will play in the WA State RCL Division 2 league this fall. This is the first time that a Mercer Island Select Team has been invited to play in the second-highest league in the state and will involve playing some of the top premier clubs.

The Mercer Island United squad is virtually the same team that claimed the for its age division earlier this year — a first for the Mercer Island youth soccer select program — and went on to play in the US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Cup in Arvada, CO on June 12-17.