Port Orchard FC won the Cascadia Premier League championship 2-1 July 27 against Nido Aguila Seattle in Puyallup, capturing the club’s second championship in its first three seasons.
The club was formed in 2023 when it won its first CPL title in the second division. Last year, POFC was promoted to the first division but fell short in the championship match 1-0 against Sharktopus FC. The club’s championship this year was in the first division.
POFC (10-0-1) entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed after going undefeated in the regular season, but ultimately had to win two games during the weekend of July 25-27. POFC beat Seattle Celtic 5-1 in the semifinal July 25.
“It’s about like a three-month window of games…to beat that team in the final [is] pretty awesome,” Head coach Patrick Leonard said.
The final game for POFC proved to be tough with the club going up 1-0 at halftime, but lost a player due to two yellow cards, leaving the club with only 10 players on the field for the majority of the second half. Around the 75th minute in the game, Nido Aguila tied the game up at one apiece, but former Klahowya Michael Divano was able to put another score in with four minutes remaining in the game to put POFC ahead for good. Divano also scored the first goal of the game.
Player retention serves as a priority for POFC, and because the club performed the way it did in the final games of the season, other teams will now be looking to recruit POFC players. Leonard noted that it’s the “natural consequence” of the success the team achieved.
Leonard, as well as the other coaches and the club itself, wants to support the players’ personal ambitions and create a platform for the players to succeed with the club. Leonard additionally notes that the club has created an environment where the guys on the team recognize that they have a “really good situation here.”
“We’re trying to really elevate our team as well, so it’s not just us trying to hold on to guys, it’s us actually actively recruiting and trying to build a stronger squad,” Leonard said.
Leonard also coaches at Central Kitsap High School and has been able to recruit a large majority of kids from Kitsap County, but also from West Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia with a mentality of “actively recruiting all the time.” POFC was bringing people in during the season as well, not allowing the club to “sit still.”
POFC is looking to take the next few weeks to “reflect” and see what the club could do better as a whole. Leonard said he wants to keep elevating not just himself as a coach, but also the club’s player pool. In order to accomplish that, Leonard is hoping to have more soccer-based events in Kitsap, such as watch parties and events centered around the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in June and July of next year, with multiple group stage matches in Seattle.
POFC plays a majority of its games at night, with the semifinals and finals taking place at an 8:15 p.m. start time. Nonetheless, the club had a few hundred people for each game, exceeding expectations.
“Even in that situation, I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s still really humbling and surprising to have a game on a Sunday night and have the numbers out that we did and staying to celebrate the trophy after with us,” Leonard said. “It was just the perfect ending to a really good season.”
