VANCOUVER, WA— Vancouver Victory FC of the Evergreen Premier League have held open tryouts and since have been training for the new season. On Saturday April 4 at 2 PM at King’s Way High School field they will play their first pre-season match against Marysville side Fuerza FC. It will be the first-ever match for Fuerza’s new men’s program. It will also be the first match at the helm for new Vancouver head coach Aaron Lewis.
“On Saturday we hope to identify more areas of strength that we can utilize throughout our season, as well as pinpoint situations that we are not yet comfortable in,” Lewis says. “We’ll look to take those situations into training so we can better organize ourselves heading into league play. Although we hope to have positive results in every game we play, Saturday’s match will primarily be geared towards EPLWA preparation.”
The Victory have been very busy in the off season, announcing a new coaching staff and a bunch of new players. Joining Lewis on the Victory staff are Alex Nimo (player-coach) and Sunny Dulai. Sean Janson returns. On the field V2FC has secured a strong list of talent that includes guys from some very succesful college programs.
“Most of the players are either currently involved in a college program or are recent grads looking to further develop their games for additional opportunities,” notes Lewis. “With that said, we feel great to have a player like Alex Nimo in our mix, that has been on an MLS championship team (Real Salt Lake, 2009), as well as has US youth national team experience.”
Guys like Nimo bring confidence to the club, but the work of evaluation goes on. “We have approximately 35 guys still in our pool, with 25 of those players currently available for training,” says Lewis. “We are excited to move forward with the current 25 players for at least the next three weeks, and then we’ll have to re-evaluate as the additional college players filter in.”
Fuerza FC recently signed an affiliation agreement with Seattle Stars FC, who like the Victory compete in the EPLWA. The Stars could have as many as seven Fuerza players on their 2015 roster. Vancouver will be getting a chance to see a few future opposing players on Saturday. Fuerza FC plays their game with an intent to honor Brazilian-style “fotebol.”
Saturday’s match is a chance for Victory supporters to see their new team under development, and also a chance to help a local food bank. Bring non perishable food and your own chair to King’s Way to celebrate the start of Vancouver’s second season.
Aaron Lewis is ready to go, and so far – so good. “I have had a fantastic experience thus far working alongside Barrett (Goddard, Victory owner), the coaching staff and this group of players. The entire organization is hungry to succeed, and that is translating into the type of effort needed to be successful.”
