The Vancouver Victory beat Temecula FC 5-2 on Friday in a non-league men’s soccer match at the Harmony Sports Complex in Vancouver.
Borce Atanasov and Alan Hernandez each had a goal and an assist in the first half for Victory FC. Jesse Martin, Ben Culpan and Bobby Hutchin scored in the second half for Vancouver.
Temecula FC from California plays in the National Premier Soccer League and is currently in sixth place in that league’s Southwest Conference. The NPSL is an 85-team developmental league with regional divisions.
Victory FC is in first place in the amateur Evergreen Premier League. Vancouver hosts Wenatchee FC at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Harmony Sports Complex, located at 192nd and 18th Street. Tickets cost $5.
The opportunity to play a friendly match against a NPSL team was a good test, according to Victory coach Aaron Lewis.
“Today’s experience was another chance to invest in our developmental mindset. The guys are continuing to be hungry and the work is starting to produce in greater ways,” Lewis said, adding that the Portland Timbers were instrumental in arranging the match against an opponent from California.
Victory FC general manager Barrett Goddard said the result against an NPSL opponent is more evidence of the improving caliber of play in the EPLWA.
With six wins and a tie, the Victory are the only unbeaten team in the eight-club Evergreen Premier League. Vancouver, with a roster of current college soccer players from around the region, has outscored its opponents 17-5.
Wenatchee FC (3-4-1) is in fifth place.
In its third season, the Victory moved this season from McKenzie Stadium to the Harmony Sports Complex. Goddard said the move was made to support the Washington Timbers youth soccer club’s vision of adding another turf field and long-range plans to build a soccer stadium at the Harmony complex.
