Pumas cross the goal line (six times) and head into playoffs (gallery added)

Welcome to 4th division pro soccer! The Kitsap Pumas were held at the US-Canada border, and then had to dress in the bus and scramble to find the right field for last night's match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency. (Jenni Conner)

There are a good half-dozen reasons the Kitsap Pumas find themselves in the PDL playoffs this morning. After banging on the goal mouth for much of the last few weeks and not getting their fair payoff, last night at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby Kitsap scored six goals to rout the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency 6:2.

Read Vancouver website match report here.

The victory eliminated Tacoma Tide FC from playoff contention. Kitsap will travel to Tacoma this Saturday for the second leg of the 2010 Narrows Bridge Bell derby.

The road to the playoffs has been perhaps a bit bumpier than some might have expected for the highly-favored NW division side. It must have come as no shock to the players last night then that the road stopped at the US-Canada border where the team bus waited, and waited...until finally crossing over. The Pumas arrived for a scheduled 7:00 PM kick off at around 7:40, with players dressing in the bus and scrambling down the campus in search of "Field #4."

Once they found it, they also found the goal column. Defender Jamel Wallace put the Pumas up 1:0 in the 13th minute. He came out of the defense to intercept a ball in the midfield, then initiated a tight give-and-go with Perdido, whose pass set up Wallace for his first goal of the season.

Jamel Wallace, left, is congratulated by Matt Friesen and John Fishbaugher after he put Kitsap up 1:0 early on. (Jenni Conner)

Vancouver put the pressure on and equalized in the 28th-minute when Gagandeep Dosanjh found Doudou Toure, who sent a rocket in from 25 yards out.

The Whitecaps then took their only lead early in the second half when a foul was called on Wallace in the box, resulting in an arguable penalty call from the official. Russell Teibert converted the penalty by blasting it off goalkeeper Dustyn Brim's fingertips. It was the first penalty the Pumas have allowed all season.

The Bus arrived late but eventually got there, and the same can be said for the Pumas offense. The iffy PK call seemed to stir something deep inside the Cats, as they proceeded to maul Vancouver over the rest of the match.

Eli Gordley notched his first goal in the 52nd- minute after Tye Perdido made a great run down the left wing to draw the defense in then launched a perfect cross onto the right on the foot of Gordley for the easy score. 2:2.

Wallace pats Eli Gordley's noggin after his second-half goal brought Kitsap back at 2:2. Pumas' head coach Peter Fewing (back to camera) als congratulates Gordley. (Jenni Conner)

Two minutes later, Perdido put the Pumas up for good when he timed his run perfectly to get behind the back line and chip the ball in for the Pumas. 3:2 Kitsap. “I almost hesitated because I thought I was off(side),” Perdido said. “But I tried stepping up before the ball got played. I guess I timed it right.”

After that, it was all Kitsap, as Cameron Hepple scored off a cross from John Fishbaugher, then Gordley scored the goal of the season hitting a bicycle kick from 45 yards out after the Vancouver goalkeeper had come off his line too early. Gordley's incredible night nearly included the first hat trick in team history, but his later penalty kick try was saved.

Steven Phillips rounded out the scoring when he took hold of a deflection from Vancouver goalkeeper off a corner kick deftly slicing in the rebound.

Tye Perdido's match-winner is enjoyed by (left to right) John Fishbaugher, Eli Gordley, Matt Friesen, Perdido, and David Gray. (Jenni Conner)

The game also saw the debut of Kitsap's newest player, Warlen Silva, a striker from Brazil whom the Pumas obtained on loan from Yakima early yesterday. The lanky striker made his debut with only two minutes in regulation yet produced two excellent shots on goal.

"This match was so long overdue for us," said Pumas head coach Peter Fewing. "We've been fighting and clawing and scrapping all season long - and remember - every team we face plays as if it is their own league final.

"This is such a deep and hard-working unit," Fewing continued, "and our balance... incredible - just look at how many of them have scored this season. I'm really proud of the effort and fight we showed tonight."

Across the border, over the goal line, and finally, in match fifteen..into the playoffs.

Kitsap 6, Vancouver 2

First half -- 1, Kit, Jamel Wallace (Tye Perdido), 13th; 2,
Van, Doudou Toure (Gagandeep Dosanjh), 28th.

Second half -- 3, Van, Russel Teibert (PK) 50th; 4, Kit, Eli
Gordley (Perdido); 52nd; 5, Kit, Perdido, 54th; 6, Kit, Cameron Hepple
(John Fishbaugher) 70th; 7, Kit, Gordley, 76th; 8, Kit, Stephen
Phillips, 81st.

The club has placed its bid to host the Western Conference finals in Bremerton at Memorial Stadium July 29- Aug. 1. The format will pit the Northwest Divsion champs, Portland against the No. 2 team from the USL PDL's Southwest Division.

Kitsap will play the winner of that division. As of today, three teams remain in the running for the two coveted playoff spots. Ventura, Hollywood and Orange County are today separated by only one point in their standings and all play this coming Saturday night - meaning that the winner of the right to host the conference championships may not be announced until as late as Sunday.

Pumas players go crazy after Eli Gordley hits a bicycle kick goal from nearly 45 yards out. (Jenni Conner)

Players hang near the team bus after the playoff-clinching win. (Jenni Conner)