Valley Revolution takes Alaska by storm

WASILLA — The Valley Revolution U11 boys and girls teams took the championship home in the Alaska Youth Soccer State Cup. Both teams scored more than eight goals in the finals in early August.

“Winning the Alaska State Championship in both the U11 boys and U11 girls divisions, is the result of many years of hard work and sacrifice.” said the Wasilla Youth Soccer Association Executive Director Lisa Catlett. “Most of these players have been training and playing soccer nine months a year for the past three years.”

The Revolution teams come from the Wasilla Youth Soccer Association, and they had both U11 teams take the tournament by storm. The U11 girls’ team came into the State Cup tournament final with a 2-0 record in group play, beating both the Eclipse and Cook Inlet Soccer Club teams. The Revolution team outscored their opponents 18-1, beating Cook Inlet 6-0 and Eclipse 12-1. The girls’ team was off to a fast start, and finished big, beating Cook Inlet 9-0 in the final

There is excitement for the teams as they now face the challenge of facing teams from the Lower 48 in the regional tournaments. The future for WYSA and the Valley Revolution teams seems to be on the upswing according to Catlett. By winning the Alaska State Cup, Catlett said the Valley Revolution 2005 boys and girls squads have qualified for the U12 Far West Regional, slated for June in Los Angeles, California.

The teams now have 10 months to prepare for the Region IV Championships, where the top teams in the region face off against each other. This year the So. Cal. Blues 02 Baker U13 girls’ team took home the trophy with a 3-0 record in pool play while not surrendering any goals. They won 1-0 in the final. That is just a taste of what they will be facing in the regional tournament.

“WYSA formed Valley Revolution in 2012 as a competitive [travel] program to allow players the option to play soccer year-round and train locally while traveling to play against opponents of the same level of play.” said Catlett.

Over the years, the Valley teams have been preparing for moments like the Alaska Youth Soccer State Cup, and this year battled poor weather in addition to their opponents. Even though the weather was dreary, the rain couldn’t dampen the spirit and excitement of the players during the Alaska State Cup finals. Valley Revolution, 2005 boys and 2005 girls, were playing simultaneously on fields side-by-side. The boys scored their first goal within three minutes, and played to an 8-1 win, allowing just a single penalty kick.

“It was such a joy to sit between the two fields, and watch these young players rise to the occasion and play great soccer.” said Catlett.

Aaron Walling is a UAF senior and Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman intern.