Kitsap Pumas - History

History

The long term goal of the organization is to build the club up into a USL Pro side. The current owner was a minority owner in the USL 1 Seattle Sounders club prior to its move up to Major League Soccer.

The Pumas were one of four expansion teams in the NW Division of 2009 PDL season along with the Victoria Highlanders, Portland Timbers U23s, and Seattle Wolves. The Pumas played their first official game on May 2, 2009, a 5-0 victory over the Spokane Spiders, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Tony Kerr. The Pumas qualified for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in their first year beating the Cascade Surge 3-0 at home on the final day of qualifying, outlasting the Portland Timbers U23's by 1 point. Their stay in the tournament was a short one as they lost to the USL Division I Portland Timbers 3-0 in front of a record crowd of 2,128.

Kitsap rebounded with victories in its next five games to take a commanding lead in the Northwest Division. The Pumas became the first team in the PDL to clinch a playoff spot, doing so on July 5. They missed a chance to take the division when they gave up a goal in stoppage time against the Timbers U23 on July 4, but defeated the Abbotsford Mariners 1-0 on July 11 as Stephen Phillips scored off an Alex Megson assist to earn the team's first ever Northwest Division title and a first round playoff bye.

Kitsap went on to beat the Seattle Wolves in their first ever play-off match 2-0 in front of a new club record attendance of 2,328, before losing to the Ventura County Fusion 2-1 in the PDL quarterfinals in Laredo, Texas.

On August 11, it was announced that head coach John Wedge would not return for the 2010 PDL season. It was later revealed by Wedge that the loss to the Fusion cost him his job. On November 9, 2010 the club announced the hiring of Pete Fewing as its new head coach.

Kitsap got off to another strong start for the 2010 season as they won their first five games to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight season. They defeated the NPSL Bay Area Ambassadors 4-2 for their first ever win in the tournament. They lost to the Portland Timbers in the second round, the second time in as many years they were eliminated by the then USL-1 club. The Pumas also had problems with the Portland Timbers U23's as well, losing 3-0 and 1-0 in regular season contests. Despite not repeating as division champs, Kitsap clinched the second and final playoff spot by defeating Vancouver 6-2 on July 20.

Kitsap was selected to host the Western Conference playoffs and outlasted the defending champs Ventura County Fusion on penalty kicks in their semifinal match. It was the first time in club history that a match had gone penalty kicks. Dustyn Brim made a save while Jamel Wallace converted the winning penalty attempt. But the Pumas did not have enough energy to outlast the eventual PDL national champions, losing 2-1 to the Portland Timbers U23's.

That fall, the team entered the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2010-2011 indoor season, where they had a very strong season.

The Pumas made a strong start to the 2011 season, but their early results were matched by Portland Timbers U23's, who also made a strong start to the season, with both teams tied in all statistical qualifiers for the U.S. Open Cup. Instead of holding a lottery, the Pumas persuaded the Timbers and the USL to let their next regular season match against each other double as a qualification for the tournament. Kitsap beat the Timbers 3-2 as Robby Christner scored a brace while Bryan Meredith - who was drafted by Seattle Sounders FC - made a key save on a penalty kick to help the Pumas become the first PDL team to qualify for the Open Cup their first three years as an organization. The Pumas defeated the Chivas El Paso Patriots in a first round Open Cup match in penalty kicks. Goalkeeper Zac Lubin - who was starting in place of an injured Meredith - held the Patriots scoreless for the entire match. He then made two saves in the penalty shootout, which went nine rounds before Bryan Burke converted in the ninth round to send the team into the second round of the tournament. They defeated the Real Colorado Foxes 3-1 to set up a first-ever official meeting with the Seattle Sounders (the two teams had played in closed door scrimmages the last two years.) Seattle defeated Kitsap 2-1 in a match that saw the Pumas miss on two chances on goal to upset the two-time defending Cup champions.

Back in league play, Kitsap stayed undefeated for much of the season, clinching a second division championship with a scoreless draw against Abbotsford. They lost their first ever international friendly - a 1-0 defeat against Football League Two side Port Vale - and their last game of the season against Victoria Highlanders, missing another chance to run the table for the regular season. The playoffs were a much different story, as Kitsap defeated Ventura County Fusion 1-0 and upset the Fresno Fuego 1-0 to win its first ever Western Conference title. The match against Fresno ended a 25-game winning streak by the Fuego. Daniel Scott scored in injury time while Meredith made a save off a penalty kick attempt by PDL MVP Milton Blanco a few seconds later to ensure the win. Kitsap returned home to host the PDL championship and made it pay off, as they defeated the Thunder Bay Chill 3-1 and the Laredo Heat 1-0 to win its first ever national title. Christner scored the game's lone goal off an assist by Burke.

On Oct. 27, Waite announced that Fewing would not return next season. A month later, the club announced that assistant coach James Ritchie would take over the head coaching spot.