It was a beautiful day for a roadtrip to the Puget Sound with fellow LUFC supporters to watch the beautiful game. The families of forward Daley Stevens and centerback Brendan Anderson as well as two Red Aces were there to cheer our boys on. Unfortunately, Lane United suffered their first loss in a 2-0 defeat to the division leading Kitsap Pumas. The two goals in the game were scored during the first half. In the 12th minute, center-back Brenden Anderson attempted a tackle at the edge of the box and the tangle continued into the penalty area. Bersano did his best to save the penalty and guessed the correct way, but the shot was too high for Matty-B to block. The second goal of the game came right before the half when Pumas forward beat Bersano to a ball and deftly popped it past the OSU keeper and scored into an empty net.

The Reds tried valiantly in the second half to score one back, but got few chances against the Pumas’ stingy team-defense. Bersano made several great saves to keep the scoreline at 2-0 in the second half while the Pumas goalie Grosey collected his fourth clean sheet of the season. The Reds drop to mid-table with a few games in hand – our game next week is crucial for keeping up our winning pace.

Every team is going to lose eventually and road games against good opponents are a true test of the character of our boys. From a supporter’s perspective, it was also nice to see how other teams are succeeding in this league and how our support brings our own Eugene flair to the league.

Pre-game, the Pumas supporters held a barbecue outside of the stadium and invited us to it. Their generosity was appreciated and they consistently remarked about great it was that our team had support that travels. They are impressed by the strength of support LUFC has (our tifo, drums, smoke bombs) and by our early success in the league. They expressed hope that our club will succeed because our market doesn’t overlap with the Timbers as much as theirs overlaps with the Sounders, an unfortunate geographical cause of the Pumas’ gradually declining attendance over the years.

From them I learned a bit about the recent history of soccer in the Puget Sound region and a lot about the workings of the supporters’ groups. The supporters also throw end-of-season barbecues for the team and its players that are funded by sales of blue and white checkered flags at the merchandise table.

The Club has a well-developed academy system, fielding teams at all ages (U-5->U-23). A Girls’ U-12 team escorted the players onto the pitch at the beginning of the game.To raise additional revenue, the club sells jerseys and Pumas scarves at a merch table under the announcer booth. A turnstile counts tickets, which is a much more reliable system than the stub-count our club has been doing. A supporters ‘ group (probably also Sounders Fans) wave large flags and give out free matchday pins in the Beer Garden. A local restaurant caters the alcohol, which must remain in “beer prison”. A pulled pork truck and team concessions stand make up the rest of the refreshments. Matchday has a family-friendly feel and the supporters commented on how there has been a long battle against adult language in the stands lead by a supporters’ group called “The Blue Guard” (not kidding).

The crowd is rather quiet with occasional chants of “BLUE!” and “KITSAP PUMAS”. One bongo drum occasionally played (“Oh there’s that drum guy!”, I overheard in the stands.) and a- *sigh*- Vuvuzela – blew. A couple of fans yell “Puto!” on opposing goalkicks – a very Mexican taunt. A little boy in the stands was a big fan of “number seventeen”. As good Aces should, we just chanted our own chants over the top of theirs. A pair of Aces almost beat a full house, I’m proud to say.

You could tell that Kitsap doesn’t typically have much traveling support visit. Children nearby wondered why I liked the Red team and not the Blue team. An 8-year old said we were “Lame United” and chanted it at us when we did “Lane United *clapclap-clapclapclap*. This had the fortunate side effect of adding extra voices to our chant! Kids wanted to touch and see our flag. By the end of the game, dozens of kids were crowded around us! The parents thanked us for being such good sports about it.

“You guys are way nicer than Timbers Fans” – If only they knew…..

The final whistle blew and some of our players walked dejectedly back to the locker room. The rest of the team came over to recognize us afterwards. The Galas Bros. admitted it just wasn’t happening for us today, but we always have next weekend to rematch with them. At least we didn’t earn a Red Card! (I like Reds, but not those kind!)

I hope LUFC continues its traveling support and keeps drumming/tifo/smoke bomb traditions alive. This adds excitement and flavor to games which hopefully draws crowds. Pumas, while very talented and the only team in the league who pays its players, are a very average team as far as crowd support. They pull ~450 people to games, but the atmosphere is the same as a good High School team. The disdain for salty language, presence of “beer prison”, and quiet support reinforces this feeling. Pumas have been around since 2009 and have been through all of their growing pains. Perhaps we will have to introduce Beer Prison one day, but I hope not. We will soon find out what our growing pains will be.

LUFC has a lot to learn from Kitsap. They have survived while many other teams in the Puget Sound have failed. They have a developed academy that develops local players. We have been predominantly drawing players from ETFC. The system is already in place for us, and ties between ETFC and LUFC are already being made and strengthened. Hopefully a productive relationship will allow us to continue to draw from our region’s deep soccer roots.

They had strong first season support, which has tailed off over the years. Pumas have played in the US Open Cup and have many strong memories of their club’s history that help drive their support. Their greatest rival is the Timbers U-23s, with whom they have a bitter history of results. We do not yet have a rival in the league, though this result today and the upcoming match next weekend may help to establish one!

The three of us hopped into the car and rolled back into Eugene around 2AM after a team-driving effort. We drove a total of 10 hours to watch our boys lose. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

LUFC plays the Kitsap Pumas again next Sunday, June 15, at 1:00 p.m at Willamalane Center. Let’s show them who we are.