Kitsap Pumas clinch US Open Cup berth with 2:0 win over Washington Crossfire

Kitsap's Jason Cascio (Blue / White) jumps with Washington Crossfire's Matt Van Houten in the first half of the Pumas 2:0 win Saturday night in Bremerton. (David Falk)

Kitsap remains unbeaten, untied and has not allowed a goal in 2010 regular season

Bremerton, Wash. – Last season Seattle Wolves FC lost to the Kitsap Pumas by scores of 2:1, 2:0 and (in the playoffs) 2:0. That string of deuces continued Saturday night in Bremerton as the Pumas worked their way to a 2:0 win over the club the Wolves have now become, Washington Crossfire.

The match broke in the second half, when Kitsap Pumas midfielder David Gray found the back of the net before he’d even worked up a sweat. Less than 30 seconds after coming off the bench, Gray scored in the 59th-minute in front of 605 fans on a damp evening at Memorial Stadium. The strike made it 2:0 Pumas and gave the Kitsap club some breathing room after a second-minute score had held through halftime.

Kitsap secured its second-consecutive berth in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with the win, remaining undefeated, untied and unscoreupon this season  - and atop the Northwest Division standings.

“It’s excellent,” said Gray, a first-year player from Scotland who replaced John Fishbaugher on the right wing in the 58th-minute - and took little time to score his first goal of the season. “We’ll get a chance to face some good teams in the Cup and we’ll see how far we can go.”

If the club continues to play the way it has en route to a 4-0-0 record through four games, there’s no telling how far it can go in the 97th-annual Cup, which last year included 24 professional and 16 amateur teams.

The Pumas have yet to allow a regular-season goal, outscoring their opponents 12-0 behind the goalkeeping of returning all-league player Dustyn Brim, who played all 90 minutes against the Crossfire.

For Crossfire, this was a second road contest in their young season, and a second big test against a known contender. They lost 3:1 to the also undefeated Portland Timbers U23's in their debut on May 15th.

After the early goal Crossfire played even with Kitsap over much of the match, hanging with the professionals from the peninsula. Washington had several good scoring chances but no finishers up front on the night. Former Seattle Sounders FC player Kevin Forrest started for Crossfire but was mostly held in check by Hellcats "Man of the Match" Dan Scott.

Earning a berth in the Open Cup was a goal the Pumas set before the season started.

“We’re in the spot we wanted to be in, which is nice,” Kitsap coach Peter Fewing said.

Yet it wasn’t quite certain the Pumas would secure the victory until Gray gave the club a two-goal lead.

Gray received a perfectly placed cross from Pumas' left wing Cameron Hepple, who sent the ball toward the right post from 35-yards out, and drilled a one-timer with his right foot less than three yards from the mouth of the goal.

“It was a great ball from Cameron and it bounced just the right way for me,” Gray said.

Gray’s goal cushioned a lead the Pumas established in the 2nd-minute, when Mark Lee tallied his second goal of the season on a ball that slipped through the hands of Crossfire 'keeper Chris Blais.

Lee, who a minute earlier had been slow to get up following a tackle that earned Crossfire midfielder Nick James a yellow card, deflected the ball toward the goal in traffic. With the field and ball slick from rain, Blais let the ball slip through his hands and it rolled across the scoring line.

“That was unlucky for them and lucky for us,” Fewing said. “Sometimes this is a game of luck, and that put them (the Crossfire) down going into halftime.”

The Pumas, meanwhile, continue to head in the right direction.

Their opponent for the first-round of the Open Cup has yet to be determined, nor has the date or place the match will be played, but it is a big accomplishment for a franchise in its second year of existence.

Last June, the Pumas hosted an Open Cup game against the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division. The match attracted more than 2,300 fans to Memorial Stadium and garnered attention across the Pacific Northwest.

“That’s fun,” Fewing said of clinching the berth. “It’s something that we talked about all preseason.”

The opponent for the Pumsas first-round Cup matchup is yet to be determined. Play in the in-season tournament begins most likely mid-week during the first week in June.

"We will do everything we can to bring that match to Kitsap," said executive director Ben Pecora. "This is another opportunity for the community - and this special team - to shine."

Kitsap next hosts the Abbotsford Mariners at 7:30 p.m. May 29 in the club’s third-consecutive home match on the current home stand.

Washington Crossfire can finally look forward to a friendly venue when they open their home season with their first-ever league match at Interbay Stadium in lower Magnolia on Thursday May 27th at 7:00 PM against the still winless Spokane Spiders.

We'll have match photos in a future gallery post.

Report and photos from the Kitsap Sun.