Wenatchee United breaks through against Yakima

WENATCHEE, WA — The Green and White can breathe a sigh of relief. In their fifth match in the EPLWA the Capitals of Wenatchee have notched their first win with a 3-1 triumph over Yakima United FC’s Hoppers.

It was the kind of performance that WUFC head coach John Wright had been waiting for all season: an early lead backed up by solid team play and more goals.

WUFC wore their alternate black and yellow kit for the first time. See a gallery of photos from Kelly Gillin at Facebook.com/WenatcheeUnitedFC.

Things happen early in Wenatchee matches. The club scored its first-ever goal in just two minutes of play. It’s what happens after…that has hurt United so far.

It began the same way as Wenatchee scored in the 4th minute on a goal by Adrian Espinoza. The Apple Bowl was alive with noise. The assist went to Joel Villa.

Both clubs had played the night before, so this match could well have been influenced by who had to travel and who was the younger side. In both cases, Wenatchee got that edge.

The Capitals were at home the previous day, knocking on victory’s door in a 3-2 loss to Spokane. Yakima was over in Seattle in a 2-2 battle against the Stars. Wenatchee is the younger side overall. YUFC’s starting eleven is filled with veterans.

So it was a big deal for the Green and White when the guy who assisted on their opening goal scored one of his own in the 14th minute to make it 2-0. Joel Villa gave WUFC a two-goal advantage on an assist from Eleazar Galvan.

The pattern of assist man turning scorer continued in the 59th minute when Galvan made it 3-0 for Wenatchee. The match seemed closer than the score, but Yakima’s attempts on goal were thwarted by WUFC goalkeeper Daniel Romero.

Finally in the 90th minute Junior Garcia got one back for the Hoppers. It was his 5th goal of the year, putting him in a three-way tie in the goalWA goalKING goal-scoring race.

The whistle blew soon after and 271 fans and all of the home players celebrated the first win in Wenatchee club history.

The Capitals (1-4-0) will go for two in a row on June 1 when they host the Seattle Stars at Wenatchee Valley College.

Yakima United (2-3-1) is home to WestSound FC at Marquette on Friday May 30th.

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