Kirkland FC

History

Kirkland FC was founded in December 2017 by two college soccer players named Trent Siedenburg and Elijah Gordon. The idea came from a lack of places to play over the summer for college players. The two of them were searching for teams to play for when they came across a newly forming league for the Summer of 2018 called Western Washington Premier League (WWPL). They were accepted into the league that same month and began play in the April of 2018.

The WWPL

The Western Washington Premier League started its innagural season with 7 teams (Kirkland FC, Harbor Force, ISC Gunners, Lacey FC, Grays Harbor FC, Federal Way FC and Twin City Union). The format of the league was the same as European Leagues, where the points leader at the end of the season won the league. The league had a balanced schedule, so each team would play each other once home and once away.

Mascot

Kirkland FC's mascot is the Goat, more specifically the Billy Goat. What started as partial joke turned into a popular icon with fans and players. During games you will he the "BAAAS" of fans as they cheer on Kirkland FC.

2018 Season

The 2018 season started with one preseason game on April 7th vs Tri-Cities Alliance of the Evergreen Premier League WA. The game took place in the midst of potential lightning, and the Goats thought their first game in their history was going to be cancelled. Thankfully, the game was able to be played, and Kirkland FC went on to win their first competitive game 3-1.

The WWPL season started three weeks later as Kirkland travelled to play Federal Way. The game ended in a 1-0 win. The Goats turned around the next day to play Lacey at home, and tied the Pocket Gophers by a score of 1-1. The Goats continued their fine run of form all the way through the end of the season, only to face Lacey again at home due to a scheduling conflict. At this point, Kirkland had acquired 31 points with 10 wins and 1 draw, while Lacey had 29 points with 9 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. The proved to be an exciting finish for the two teams and the league with the winner take all situation. The Goats prevailed in the end, winning by a score of 2-1. This brought the Goats their first club Trophy in the inaugural season on the WWPL.

== 2019 Season The 2019 Season started with a heightened sense of excitement. The league had grown from 7 teams to 11 teams. The league added 5 teams (Crossfire Redmond, Tacoma Narrows, Snohomish County FC, BeSea FC and Nido Aguilas Club America Seattle) while dropping 1 team (Twin City Union).

The Goats started their 2019 campaign by adding a heavy front end of their schedule. They played 4 friendly games, and played in one preseason tournament. They came out of the season worse for ware, having picked up multiple injuries and losing many of their games.

The WWPL started well for Kirkland FC, as they got off to a 10-0 win vs Harbor Force. They went on to win their next two games vs ISC Gunners and Lacey away, only to lose for the first time in the WWPL at home vs Federal Way 2-3. They went on to lose their next game away to Crossfire in a 3-4 thriller. The Goats bounced back with a win vs BeSea, but dropped points versus Grays Harbor in a game where they went behind by three goals in the first half. They showed resilience and fought their way back to earn a draw by the final whistle. They beat Tacoma Narrows away 4-3 in a wild game with lots of altercations, only to lose the last game of the season to Nido Aguilas. They finished the season with 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, gaining 17 total points from 10 games.

Kirkland FC also competed in the Washington State Super Cup, making it to the semi finals. They lost away to Nido Aguilas 2-1.

The format of the WWPL changed from 2018 to 2019 as more teams were added. Every team only played each other once, and the top six at the end of the season would stay in Division 1, while the bottom five were Relegated to Division 2. Kirkland took 5th of 11th, so they were able to stay in the top flight.