Vancouver earns victory in historic home debut

VANCOUVER, WA— The Vancouver Victory notched their first-ever EPLWA win on Sunday May 4 with a 4-0 scoreline over WestSound FC.

galleryphoto 2 — Nathan Goddard, EPLWA President Peter Ostrovksy, and Barrett GOddard pose with Vancouver’s inaugural season plaque.

Borce Atanasov and Jerson Meija scored first-half goals and Mirza Ramic and Jesse Deleon scored in the second half to carry Victory FC to the win at McKenzie Stadium.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Vancouver coach Biniam Afenegus told The Columbian, noting that the team is still building fitness.

It was fitting that the first goal in V2FC history would be scored by Borce (“Bor-chay”) Atanasov. He led the club in pre-season goals after leading Vancouver’s Clark College in the same category for two years.

gallery7 — The Victory celebrate a goal as The Vanguard erupts in the background. (Bradley York)

There was a steady rain throughout most of the match, which was attended by 430 fans.

The Vanguard, a V2FC supporters group, used club-colored non-pyrotechnic smoke on the far stand. They were chanting throughout and it was clearly heard from the main stand. The Vanguard gave supporters group scarves to V2FC at end of match.

Vancouver hosted the match professionally, with at least 15 business sponsor signs on display. Goldies BBQ and Muchas Gracias were the food vendors. V2FC had a merchandise stall which was very busy.

The Victory (1-1-0) hit the road next week for Seattle Stars FC’s home opener Sunday May 11 at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila. WestSound FC (0-2-0) travels to Bellingham to play the Hammers on May 11 at Civic Stadium.

Photo Gallery with shots from Bradley York: Facebook.com/EvergreenPremierLeague

Club Report: by Matt Lacy

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