PIERCE COUNTY, WA— Pierce County Football Club announced their existence as part of the 6-club National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Northwest Division back on February 1, 2017. Since then the club has been tracking college players from around the United States who are part of the College Life Italia program which places Italians in American colleges. A good portion of Pierce County FC’s roster will be made up of players from Italy who are playing for colleges in the States.

“We are working on our final numbers, the team will be about half Italians and half local players,” says PCFC General Manager Paolo Mottola Sr. “At the moment we are in the process of defining the right blend of players for our roster, we’re very close.”

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Pierce County FC will play home matches at Bonney Lake High School and Stadium Bowl. The club is owned by Giuseppe Pezzano, who also owns OSA FC Seattle in the same league. PCFC and Mottola know they can look to Pezzano for guidance with a mixed Italian-American roster.” Giuseppe Pezzano’s group has worked with foreign and local players for the last five years with a variety of teams,” Mottola says. “We started with AC Seattle in the WPSL in 2013 where we brought foreign and local players together and went on to win the Northwest Championship and Evergreen Cup. The staff has a lot of experience mixing different player styles, personalities and cultures. We have been successful each time, on and off the field, it’s a wonderful experience for everyone involved.”

The NPSL Northwest Conference had just two clubs in 2016 – OSA FC (Seattle) and Portland Spartans. It’s anyone’s guess how the race to the playoffs will play out this year as Kitsap Pumas, Spokane Shadow, Pierce County FC and PDX FC have all joined the conference.

Mottola is confident that PCFC will be competitive right away. “We believe we can. Based on our recruiting efforts, coaching and networking we will bring a very competitive team to the field. We have a great team made of strong Italian players who have been playing soccer all their lives, and this past year have been attending and playing for their US college teams. We will have strong local presence of players as well, we believe the level of play will be excellent.”

The greater Tacoma area will see an influx of Italian boys this spring and summer, and they will be wearing soccer boots. “We’re excited to bring the nuances of Italian style of play to Pierce County,” Mottola says, “and to give local players that unique experience as well. This is a league that gives players opportunities. College players continue their development and younger players measure themselves against tough competition. For fans of the game, this is a great opportunity to see more adult high level soccer in the area. We’re looking forward to it.”