Girls soccer team earns regional berth

Washington Timbers Green, a team of girls born in 1997, won the championship for their age division in the Virginia Mason Washington Youth Soccer Challenge Cup tournament.

A second-half goal from Amanda Shi lifted the Vancouver team to victory on May 11 in the final match, a 1-0 victory over Westsound FC Red at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

The championship earned the Timbers Green team a berth in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Presidents Cup, a tournament to be played June 10-15 in Morgan Hills, Calif.

The Timbers Green reached the Challenge Cup final by defeating Snohomish United Black 4-1 in the May 10 semifinal match. In that game, Desiree Arocha scored two goals and Hunter Thomson-Terrel and Jillian Bolke each scored once.

Other players for the girls under-16 team are: Makyla Croco, Alexis Dettling, Taylor Germer, Riley Gray, Emma Jimenez, Meleah Kainu, Rylee MacDonald, Alyssa Mehan, Nicolle Ohama, Erin Scott, Madison Smit and Ada White. The team is coached by Senad Ramic and Mirza Ramic.

The Challenge Cup is the second-level state tournament for competitive teams. The top state tournament is the U.S. Youth Soccer Washington State Championship.

This is the fourth consecutive year this team has qualified to play in a regional tournament based on state cup success.