PORT ORCHARD, WA—Port Orchard Football Club and FC Olympia’s Evergreen Premier League Men’s Team have eyed each other from up and down the lower Sound for years. Now that both are in the same league, they are christening the “EPLWA Captain’s Cup” to energize their players and supporters and memorialize explorer George Vancouver.
The EPLWA Captain’s Cup will be a two-leg aggregate goals series in 2026. The first leg is May 25 (Memorial Day) at 3 PM at the RAC in Olympia. The second leg is Sunday June 7 at 5 PM at South Kitsap High School Field.
The clubs have met just once in their histories, a 2024 friendly in Port Orchard which saw FC Oly take a 3-2 win.
EPLWA Welcomes Derby
“This league is all about our local communities and nothing highlights these communities more than a strong derby rivalry game,” says Evergreen Premier League President John Crouch. “We are excited to introduce our first community-specific competition and highlight it with the Captain’s Cup tradition. Don’t miss the first fixture in what we hope will be a long lasting high level cross bridge community rivalry.”
Pizza, Anyone?
FC Olympia owner Ryan Perkins is ready to reward the 2026 Captain’s Cup winner $150 in pizza and favorite beverage. “From player pool and coaches to proximity of our home venues within EPLWA, this is the closest rivalry for us in this path to pro EPLWA conference,” Perkins says. “We’re thrilled to embark on a new Captain’s Cup tradition with Port Orchard FC & FC Olympia — we’ll see who gets the first bragging rights in 2026. OLY! OLY! OLY!”
A Lot In Common
“Our jump up to statewide play in the EPLWA makes FC Oly our current closest opponent,” says POFC Coordinator David Falk. “Our cities have plenty in common, from being near water, to being local govenment hubs, and more. In terms of soccer we both also share the mission of engaging the communities we represent. This will be a fun derby and I am excited to see how it develops over the years.”
POFC have seen players go to both The Evergreen State College and FC Olympia. Others have played at South Puget Sound College (SPSCC) as well. This season Port Orchard’s Head Coach Max Sampson and Assistant Coach Joshua Coetzee both have strong connections to the capital city. Max is head coach at SPSCC and Josh was a student there who then went on to feature with the Geoducks. He’s now an assistant with the Clippers.
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver’s connection to both cities stems from his 1792 expedition mapping the Pacific Northwest. He named Port Orchard directly after his ship’s clerk, Harry Masterman Orchard. Additionally, he named Puget Sound (where Olympia sits at the southern tip) after his Lieutenant, Peter Puget.
During the May 1792 expedition, Vancouver entrusted the surveying of the waters west of Restoration Point to his clerk, H.M. Orchard. Orchard explored the strait separating present-day Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula, which Vancouver subsequently named Port Orchard.
The members of Vancouver’s crew are also responsible for the name of Budd Inlet (the body of water Olympia sits on), which was charted during his voyage and named by a later explorer, Captain Charles Wilkes, after expedition member Thomas A. Budd.