PORT ORCHARD, WA—In the club’s only scheduled “weekend double header” of the 2024 season Port Orchard Football Club got their first-ever CPL First Division win Sunday on the heels of a Saturday heartbreaker.
Saturday Heartbreak
POFC visited Seattle on Saturday June 8 to play division foe Sporting International. The match was full of drama, twists and turns. Port Orchard got out to a 3-0 first half advantage thanks to goals from Peter Radovich and Jaggar Judkins (2). Just before the half ended and right after the second half kick off Sporting bookended goals of their own and the match was on, 3-2.
Not for the faint of heart: DaveSPN (Radovich) replay of Sporting trip.
From there the battle intensified with Sporting adding more 3 goals and POFC having two subpar penalty kick attempts saved. Jake MacKenzie scored late to draw PO level at 4-4 but in stoppage time the 5th Sporting goal sent Port Orchard down to a crazy, heartbreaking loss. The result left PO with a 0-0-2 record in the Rainier Division.
Sunday Revival
Pulling his troops back together 24 hours later, POFC gaffer Patrick Leonard had massive help from 2023 POFC stars Michael Divano and Connor Louden. Both have been playing for West Seattle Junction FC in USL2 but neither were rostered for that club on Sunday. POFC welcomed them home and Divano delivered a stellar outing with two goals and two assists. He added to his all-time POFC goal scoring title, now up to 26 goals.
MATCH PHOTOS: Facebook Gallery by Robert Law
MATCH PHOTOS: Facebook Gallery by Jesse MacKenzie
When he wasn’t scoring, Divano was dishing out assists. He found Jake MacKenzie open in firt half stoppage time for an important goal that gave POFC some breathing room at 2-0. In the second half he perfectly led an onrushing Jaggar Judkins who roofed a sweet shot to make it 3-0.
Photo sequence of Jake MacKenzie goal by Robert Law.
Capping POFC’s first-ever CPL1 win, Divano made a chatty Eastside goalkeeper pay by sneaking a free kick between a 2-man wall. The goal was preceeded by a foul call that had the Eastside keeper questioning the referee and declaring “all ball” or a dive. Divano put his finger to his lips after the score, hushing the keeper as the scoreboard read 4-0.
Port Orchard FC not only secured their first CPL1 victory but they did so directly after a gut punch mere hours earlier. The shutout by Jordan Hadden and crew offers hopes of boosting the defensive morale and the win keeps Port Orchard alive in the run to finish top two and earn a playoff spot in their first season at the Cascadia Premier League’s top level.
Photo sequence of Michael Divano free kick goal by Robert Law.
The next POFC match is Sunday June 16 at 3 PM at Kitsap Bank Stadium against Rainier Division opponent Washington Premier FC.
Sunday’s match had a total of 622 tickets sold. About half of those were in attendance on a lovely, sunny afternoon supporting POFC.
HISTORY: Relive the match as DaveSPN calls the first POFC win in the CPL1
