(Scenic Tri-Cities area photos by John Sokol.)

BELLINGHAM, WA— The Evergreen Premier League of Washington (EPLWA) today announces that Tri-Cities Alliance FC of Tri-Cities, Washington have been accepted as a member into the elite adult men’s statewide soccer league. The Alliance (TCAFC) applied to join the EPLWA in August and were recently accepted by a vote of the league’s clubs.

The Alliance will now prepare for the 2018 season which kicks off in late April. The club is planning to call Kennewick’s Neil F. Lampson Stadium their home for league matches. TCAFC joins clubs from Bellingham, Bremerton, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver and Yakima as the Evergreen Premier League expands to nine clubs. The Alliance will hold open tryouts at a date yet to be announced.

TCAFC Operations Manager and co-founder Zachary Sansom says this is the kind of boost that soccer needs in the greater Tri-Cities area. “It’s a huge achievement for the players and this region. I’m proud of every one of those guys that has stepped onto the pitch in an Alliance jersey. They wanted this as bad as we did and they went out there and made it happen. Now, thanks to the EPLWA and the other team owners, we have a platform to truly challenge ourselves.”

The Alliance played a series of tournaments and friendlies in the spring and summer. They traveled to Bellingham for a friendly against EPLWA club Bellingham United. They won two tournaments and finished second in a third. The results added extra punch to the TCAFC application to join the highest level adult league in Washington.

EPLWA President Peter Ostrovsky acknowledges the strong showing of the Tri-Cities club. “Congratulations to TCAFC, their staff, players, supporters and partners for their successful bid to join EPLWA in 2018. TCAFC has proven that there is passion for high-level adult soccer in the Tri-Cities area and we look forward to their first season with us. Even though I will not be the league’s president during the 2018, I can’t wait to watch them as a spectator to see what Tri-Cities’ has to offer, in both competition and culture, to The Beautiful Game in our great Evergreen State.”

TCAFC’s Business Manager and co-founder JD Loveless looks forward to the challenges ahead. “Being accepted into the EPLWA validates that the men’s soccer talent in the Tri-Cities is at the highest level. This allows our players to showcase their skills against the best in the state.” General Manager Ramiro De La Mora knows this is just the beginning. “Being accepted into the Evergreen Premier League means we reached our first short term goal and we now have a bigger goal for our community— to finish in the top of the table in 2018.”

Sansom has his eyes wide open to the tasks his club will need to accomplish before “jumping up” to the EPLWA. “My mindset is to always accomplish something related to the club every day. Whether it be a phone call to a sponsor, a Facebook post, anything. I fully expect that to accelerate now. Some bigger, short term things I see are advertising and sponsorships.” Loveless says, “I think the biggest task will be the behind the scenes work and getting the word out. We are new and need to make sure everyone knows who we are and what we have to offer.”

About Tri-Cities Alliance FC

TCAFC is an elite adult amateur men’s soccer club that will play in the statewide Evergreen Premier League starting in May 2018. The club was founded in 2017 but has roots in local side Alianza Tri-Cities which has competed over the years in regional play and in the Pasco Soccer League. Zachary Sansom (Operations Manager), JD Loveless (Business Manager) and Ramiro De La Mora (General Manager) have joined up to provide players and supporters in the greater Tri-Cities area with a team to join and cheer for. TCAFC is on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/TriCitiesAlliance/.

About the Evergreen Premier League

The Evergreen Premier League is an elite adult men’s amateur soccer league for college and post-college age players to feature their skills on hometown clubs throughout the state of Washington. The league’s mission is to cultivate “football club” culture while providing opportunities for coaches, owners, supporters, players and towns to enjoy the sport and all of the community-building it can bring.

The Evergreen Premier League of Washington (EPLWA, pronounced E-P-L Wah) was founded in 2013 and began play in 2014. The league is a national “Elite League” under an association with United States Adult Soccer that also connects the league to US Soccer and FIFA. Elite Leagues are considered 4th division USA in the unofficial “pyramid.” The EPLWA begins its 5th season of play in May 2018.

The nine clubs of the EPLWA are: Bellingham United, Olympic Force, Oly Town Artesians, Seattle Stars, Spokane Shadow, Washington Premier South Sound, Tri-Cities Alliance, Vancouver Victory and Yakima United.