March 10th,
2008
For the second time in only its fourth
season as a team, the Wenatchee Fire has won the NW Division
Championship of the Premier Arena Soccer League! The Fire
is now
February 18th, 2008
The Wenatchee Fire bounced back this last
Sunday with a solid performance at home against the PSSA
Rapids of Bellingham. In fact, the first half was all Fire!
Less than 3 minutes into the game, Tony Infante started
an 8-0 blaze that lasted the whole first half. Wilbur Velasco
got into the act finding Jamie Richards with 6:10 left in
the 1st quarter. Wenatchee earned a powerplay with 2:50
left and patiently looked for a hole in the Rapid's D. Juan
Barboza found it with a low, hard pass toward Felix Robles
who dummied the ball for the on-running Richards. Richards
beat the keeper on the backdoor for his 2nd tally of the
night in a beautifully timed play.
The Rapids mounted a counter-attack in the 2nd quarter only
to find GK Tristen Ryles in their path. Tristen was Mt.
Everest in a snowstorm, beating back everything from any
angle. "Just an amazing, 'highlight reel' performance!",
according to Coach Thompson. Tony Infante struck again with
5:05 left in the first half to give the Fire an 8-0 halftime
lead.
Ricardo Rodarte opened the scoring for the Rapids at 3:42
into the 3rd quarter. Wilbur Velasco earned his second assist
6 minutes into the the 3rd, finding Tony Infante who finished
the night with a hat trick. Coach T: "I was really
proud of Tony. He's a great player but, like others before
him, found it difficult to adjust to our system of play.
He persevered however, and it paid off big for him and the
team. Hat tricks are very difficult to earn at this level."
B-ham got one back with 5:00 left in the 3rd before Felix
Robles assisted Juan Barboza for a 3-pointer to the upper
7 just 30 seconds later.
Scoring ended with a consolation goal for the Rapids in
the 4th quarter as the game ended:
Fire 13 - Rapids 6.
The Fire host the Central Oregon Steelheaders (4 wins -
5 losses) from Bend, OR this Saturday, February 23rd at
7pm, in a 'must win' match for Bend. If Bend loses, they
are knocked out of playoff contention so it will be an exciting
match. The Fire then hosts the Seattle Wolves (5 wins -
2 ties - 1 loss) on Sunday, February 24th at 4pm. The Wolves
have 8 Seattle Sounders on their roster and must beat the
Fire (4 - 1 - 2) to secure 1st place and homefield advantage
for playoffs. The Fire needs one win or a tie against Bend
to secure a playoff berth and can still finish first with
2 wins this weekend, and a win at Seattle.
Join the Fire at Martin's Market in Cashmere from 3 to 5pm
this Saturday, Feb. 23rd as La Super Z conducts a live radio
remote while the players sign autograghs.
February 12th, 2008
Wilbur Velasco represents at the Stockton
Arena! In an exhibition match against the MISL's California
Cougars on February 10th, Wilbur Velasco scored the first
goal for the PASL All-Stars and later tallied an assist.
Cougars' Head Coach Bernie Lillavois: "I was really
impressed by the PASL boys. They had a tough assignment
of having to gel together and face a professional team with
very little practice time. A lot of those guys have a future
in the MISL.”
The Cougars played for real. Having started
the season 7 and 4, the Cougars went on a 7 game losing
streak in MISL league play. As such, they looked to this
game as a chance to turn things around. Former Fire player
Pete Randall said, "It was clear from the start that
they [the Cougars] were playing for real. In fact, I think
that some were playing for their jobs!" The Cougars
were winning 6-0 until Willy's goal. The crowd of 2,109
players were impressed however, with the All-Stars play.
Willy also one over many in the crowd of 2,109 fans when
he stuck a Cougar during a counter-attack. Willy said, "It
was so cool! This big dude, like 6 foot plus and probably
over185 lbs. was coming at me and I stuck him hard and cleen.
The crowd cheered. It was cool." Willy stands 5' 6"
and but plays like he's 6'. The crowd was impressed.
Willy and the Fire play this Sunday February
17th at 4pm at the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex. The Cougars
return to action on February 15, 2008 against the Chicago
Storm. The game starts at 8:00 p.m. is part of a Fox Soccer
Channel doubleheader featuring the Storm at 5pm and 8pm
Pacific.
February 4th, 2008
The Wenatchee Fire-- currently in third
(3, 1 and 2)-- had a tough roadtrip this past weekend. After
scoring early in the first quarter and controlling much
of the play, Snohomish-- in second (3, 1 and 3)-- got one
back. Each team tallied another midway through the quarter
and then the Skyhawks hit another at the end of the quarter.
Snohomish went on to score 3 more unanswered goals in the
2nd quarter. According to Coach Thompson, "We looked
good starting out and could have been up 6 to 8 points.
Unfortunately, we gave up some very stupid goals. Several
guys were playing sick and by the time the 2nd quarter came,
it showed. Minds were cloudy and we had no subs. We brought
our 'B-Game' and you can't do that in this league."
Result: Loss 20-10
The competition in this league is unforgiving.
Elswhere in the Northwest this past weekend, the PSSA Rapids
(2, 1 and 3) bounced back after a loss to the Fire on Jan.
26th, and tied the Seattle Wolves (5, 1 and 1) in Bellingham.
The Fire look to do even more against Seattle as they kick
off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9th at Starfire Sports in
Tuckwila, WA.
January 21st 2008
Wenatchee – The Wenatchee Fire is
back on track to challenge for the Northwest Division Lead.
This past Saturday The Fire beat the Bellingham PSSA Rapids
12 – 10 to secure second place in the NW Division.
Currently, The Fire is 3 - 1 - 1 and is 2 points behind
league leader, Seattle Wolves. The Fire plays host to The
Seattle Wolves this Saturday, January 26th at 7PM at the
Sportsplex in Cashmere. Mike Thompson, Head Coach of The
Fire says, “The game this weekend against the Wolves
will be a war, it's for first place in the division and
we are peaking at just the right time. If you haven’t
seen a game yet this year, then this is the one to come
see.”
Get tickets at the gate - adults $5.00 and youth
$3.00
The Wenatchee Fire is composed of players from around Central
Washington and competes in the Premier Arena Soccer League
(PASL) in the Northwest Division.
You Gotta See These Guys!
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January 13, 2008
The Wenatchee Fire started the 2007 - 2008
season by beating the Tacoma Stars and the Troutdale B2B
Bombers. The Fire tied the Snohomish Skyhawks 14 - 14 with
a 2 point goal with 18 seconds in the 4th quarter at the
Sportsplex in Cashmere.
The Fire traveled to Bend OR last night
to play the Steelheaders and lost 16 - 8. The match was
even going into the 4th quarter and then Bend erupted with
4 - two point goals to pull away and give the Fire it's
1st loss of the season. The Fire's record is 2 - 1 - 1.
The Wenatchee Fire plays Bellingham away
January 19th. This is a must win for the Fire! The next
home match is against the Seattle Wolves Saturday, January
26th at 7PM at the Sportsplex. Come support your Wenatchee
Fire!
You Gotta See These Guys!
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March 13th, 2007
The Wenatchee Fire finished the regular
season nicely, winning 5 of its last 6 games to finish the
season at 5 and 5, securing 3rd place in the Northwest Division
of the PASL. With a stellar final practice before playing
the Snohomish Skyhawks in the NW Division Semis, Coach Thompson
looked forward to a victory and a chance for another Divisional
Championship. "We just couldn't find the net,"
said Thompson. "I was confident that if we played well
defensively, we would be able to score, but that just didn't
happen." Thompson stated that he was proud of the team
for working hard and showing a lot of heart this season.
With 10 players out for injuries for some
or all of the season, many new faces earned a chance to
shine. According to Coach T, "I didn't plan on playing
any of the developmental players at all this year. They
were going to be 'red-shirts' but, they all got to play
and some started the majority of matches. For these guys
to play against teams with ex-pro and collegiate level All-Americans,
and succeed, was awesome!" The Fire is definitely the
youngest team in the division and quite probably the youngest
in the PASL. If most of the players return, as we expect,
and can stay healthy, the 2007-2008 year should prove successful.
January 20th, 2007
The Wenatchee Fire earned two victories
on the road to pull themselves out of the cellar. "It
seemed like we just could not play a full game without major
breakdowns until this weekend," stated Head Coach Mike
Thompson. He went on to say that, "The guys came together
and played selflessly. That was the key. Quick, one-touch
passing enabled us to dominate Central Oregon." Thompson
also praised the disciplined play of his defenders and the
saves of Matt Stalnick in his first start.
The result; a 9-4 victory for the Fire.
Just four hours later, the Fire kicked
off against the Troutdale Bombers. After taking an early
lead and dominating the game, fatigue set in and they found
themselves trailing 5-2 at half. The players knew they could
still come back and win and did just that. Garrett Brown's
bicycle kick to the upper 7 beat the outstretched hands
of the keeper, giving the Fire an 8-7 lead late in the fourth
quarter. Troutdale tied the score with a deflected shot
off of a Fire defender but, Manny Robles would earn his
6th goal of the day for the game winner. Coach Thompson,
"Garrett's goal was incredible and then as if that
wasn't beautiful enough, Manny nails a volley from the mid-line
for the game winner! This match should have been televised.
It had it all; lead changes, beautiful team play, hits and
licks, and 'highlight reel' goals."
The result; a 9-8 victory for the Fire.
You Gotta See These Guys!
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December
17th, 2006
The Wenatchee Fire is off to a slow start this year by losing
the first 3 games of the season. Losses have been against
the Tacoma Stars, Klammath Fuego, and the Snohomish Skyhawks.
Games have been close and exciting, but just not what the
Fire was expecting this year.
The
Fire hits the road for three games in in January and is
back at the Plex for a home game against Troutdale on January
27th at 1 PM. Come support the Wenatchee Fire. For more
info please check out wvsportsplex.com
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November
19th, 2006,
Wenatchee
- The Wenatchee Fire Intra-squad game was last night and
fans, players, and coaches all enjoyed the fast action and
hard kicks. According to Fire Head Coach Mike Thompson,
"The main objective of the Intra-squad game was to
put the players in a high intensity game situation with
few substitutes. We really wanted to see how the guys reacted
when they were tired." Manuel Robles had the play of
the night when he jumped up and bicycled the ball into the
goal from the red line.
The
Fire is ready for the Tacoma Stars on December 2nd at 7
PM. This game will be very intense and full of fast action.
Thompson said, "Tacoma is the 2006 PASL Summer League
Champs...We beat them twice last year in indoor play, so
I'm sure this game will be very aggressive and exciting."
Come
support your Wenatchee Fire on December 2nd at 7 PM. The
game is at the Sportsplex in Cashmere, WA. Get your tickets
at the gate.
You
Gotta See These Guys!
(See
below for recent news)
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November
6th, 2006
WENATCHEE
- Tryouts are going well, according to FIRE
Head Coach Mike Thompson. Coach Thompson believes this year's
team is talented and balanced. Thompson says, "We have
many returning players from the 2006 NW Division Championship
team. This experience will be invaluable over the course
of the upcoming season." He continued, "I like
the committment...some players are driving from as far away
as Okanogan to play on this team."
The
season gets underway with an intersquad match on Saturday,
November 18th at
7 PM at the Sportsplex in Cashmere. The game is free for
all fans and standing room only is expected for this pre-season
exhibition match.
Please
come support your Wenatchee Fire!
You
Gotta See These Guys!
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(See below for a summary of the 2005 -
2006 NW Division Championship Team)
March 20th, 2006
FIRE
Struggles in California, but learns a ton!
The Wenatchee Fire had their hands full in all three games
this past weekend in Sacramento, CA. Al Valenica barely
missed a goal with 3 minutes remaining in game 1 against
the Mass AZTECS that would have tied the game. The FIRE
played tough all game, but game up short when a free kick
from the red line by the AZTECS found it's way into the
net past goalie Felix Robles.
Manuel
Robles said, "what a great experience, we know what
we have to do now to compete on this level, it's good to
have a reference point."
The Fire Season at a glance: The Fire has
won all of the following game:
Tacoma Stars 11 - 2 on December 3rd
Salem Surge 11 - 3 on December 10th
Central Oregon (Bend) Steelheaders 6 - 4 on December
17th
Forfeit win over Southern Oregon Fuego
on January 7th
Tacoma Stars on the road 9 - 7 on January
14th
Southern Oregon Fuego on the road 15 -
3 on January 21st
Central Oregon (Bend) Steelheaders on the
road 9 - 5 on January 21st
Hillsboro, OR Hurricane 14 - 6 at home
January 28th
Hillsboro, OR Hurricane on the road 5 -
4 on Feb. 4th
Salem Surge on the road 6 - 5 on Feb. 4th
Southern
Oregon
Fuego 11 - 3 at home Feb. 25th
Bend
Stealheaders 18
- 6 at home to win the PASL NW Division Title
The Wenatchee Fire is composed
of players from around Central Washington and competes in
the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) in the Northwest
Division.
You gotta see these guys!
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