In less than a week, our Men's team will be back on the pitch competing in the Washington Premier League Spring season. Before we look forward, let's take a quick look into the past.
After an eventful year & a half, our men's team had to restart a successful program that won the Washington Premier league with dominance in 2018. World Class Premier beat Yinz United 2-1 in the championship. That season, the team had an 8-2 record and finished WPL regular season and Helge Boes Cup Champions.
"We assembled some of the best talents around that season and it was so enjoyable to watch the team play."
- Head Coach Kokou
The team also went on that year to compete in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup in hopes to emulate the Cinderella story of Christos FC who advanced the previous year to play against the likes of D.C. United. Although we didn't get our chance to play against an MLS team, we were proud of our journey of advancing till the fourth round before losing to VA United in the qualifying round.
Losing to VA United in PKs was heartbreaking as the game was nearly in our hands, but the experience was well worth it.
One of the most memorable games during that U.S. Open Cup run was against Rochester Lancers 2 on a cold snowy day with the boys weathering the storm to beat the Lancers 3-1 on their home turf.
Though we've restarted our program with a lot of new faces, we still have some veterans like Daniel Ankrah and Karl Digbeu who were an important setup of the original squad. Their experience has been vital in leading the new players we currently have.
This past fall, though we weren't as fluid as the 2018 season, the team managed to finish 3rd with a 6-2-2 record, making the playoffs before losing to the eventual champions in the semi final game 2-3.
"Being our first season back, we were proud to have gone as far as we did. It took us a while to start learning each other and playing like a team and even then I wouldn't say we're fully gelling as we should yet, but it will be better. Honestly, going through what we went through for the past year & a half, I am just happy that we have a team full of guys who support what we're doing and are here to just enjoy the game."
- Head Coach Kokou
With the Spring season starting this weekend, the team has already been training in preparation for another competitive WPL season with the goal of winning it all.
"We have a lot of new faces, but the team is going in the right direction. We're providing an opportunity for a lot of young players in our club and outside of the club to challenge themselves and continue to grow as players. The goal is to build this for the next generation, but I am excited to continue playing and making our club better."
- Daniel Ankrah
Let's go World Class!
