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United Soccer League Championship

Kitsap Pumas Take First Pdl Championship

August 6, 2011 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release


BREMERTON, Wash. - The Kitsap Pumas took the first USL PDL Championship in the club's history as Robby Christner scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory against the Laredo Heat on Saturday night at Bremerton Memorial Stadium. The victory was a hard-fought one, but one that left the Pumas exhilarated as they celebrated on their home field with their fans.

"I don't think words can really describe it," Pumas captain Daniel Scott said. "I mean, if I think if we look back to the beginning of the season there was so much sacrifice that goes into this team. A good amount of us live over in the Seattle area and have to make the commute over here three, four days a week, sometimes five times on the weekend, so there's a lot of personal sacrifice that we put in, but it paid off and it was worth every minute of it."

The Pumas opened strongly, pinning the Heat back in their own half as the Southern Conference champion struggled to find any rhythm. After a pair of shots by Elliott Fauske and Robby Christner had challenged the Heat's defense early, Christner was on hand in the 11th minute to put away what would prove to the be the only goal of the game. With Laredo unable to clear its lines properly, the ball came to Bryan Burke on the left side of the penalty area and his low cross was tapped into the back of the net by Christner from six yards out.

"We wanted to come out strong," Burke said. "We knew they knew we were going to bring it, but once we got that goal, we were all pretty tired from last night so we just made sure we'd hold that lead."

Burke's energy epitomized the Pumas' performance, and he took MVP honors after a strong performance that saw him consistently harry the Heat's defense.

"Bryan Burke is a tireless worker, and that's one thing I think that we really respect about him," Scott said. "You're going to get the same out of him day-in and day-out, in training sessions and in games. He definitely deserved the MVP of the game today, I mean he worked his rear off for us today and it paid dividends in the end."

Laredo eventually settled, but it took a poor clearance to give them their closest opportunity of the half. After goalkeeper Bryan Meredith's low clearance was controlled by Heat forward Esteban Bayona, the striker took a look up from 40 yards and fired an audacious chip that went just over the crossbar. For the most-part, though, the Heat weren't able to challenge Meredith until second-half stoppage time, when Gregory Mulamba fired a blistering shot that came off the left post on almost the final kick of the game.

"I kind of just stretched out, got a little tip to it, not much, turned back and saw it hit the post, and luckily Dan Scott was right there to clear it out," Meredith said.

"Coach Pete [Fewing] says this all the time, but you have to earn your luck," Scott said. "I think that's something that's stuck with us throughout this year. Last night against Thunder Bay they had a shot off a free kick and Bryan Meredith makes a great save and it hits the post in the last couple of minutes of the game. We've dodged bullets, but I think sometimes you have to bend without breaking, and I think that's a testament to our work ethic defensively as a team."

Moments later the final whistle blew, sending the team and the packed home crowd into celebration while putting a broad smile on Fewing's face.

"They're a very remarkable group of guys, and that's why they win," Fewing said. "You have to give all the credit to these players. They've stuck together, been very committed and they've been very disciplined. I do not think we would have the team that we have without the discipline that the guys have and the commitment they have for each other. It's a special group."

Whether this group stays together past this season has been a topic of conversation among the players and coaches, with the performances many on the Pumas' side this season have put in likely catching the eye of professional clubs.

But that may just make this victory all the sweeter.

"It's special, we're a special group," Scott said. "The cohesion on this team didn't happen overnight, and I think that's something that we all recognize is that it takes time, and I think in the long run when we look back on all of it, we're going to be friends for a long time going forward. This is a special group and if there's a team out there that deserves it, we do. I really personally feel like we do deserve this."

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