黑料福利社

It didn't take long for Yakima United to assert its dominance in Sunday's Super Cup final at Marquette Stadium.

The Hoppers scored early and stayed in control most of the way for a 4-1 win over the Wenatchee All-Stars, earning their third Super Cup title in the last four years. This one felt extra special for 2025 Washington State Adult Soccer Association coach of the year Josh Vega, since he helped found the statewide tournament in 2018.

Yakima United put consistent pressure on Wenatchee's defense and a successful long ball set up Jose Marquez's header goal in the sixth minute off a long throw-in by Diego Lopez. The two nearly connected again on a similar play less than 20 minutes later but Marquez's header sailed over the crossbar.

"It was super important," Vega said of the sixth-minute goal in a phone interview. "We were threatening from the beginning. Getting that was fantastic."

Isaiah Rojas made it 2-0 thanks to another sequence that began with a throw-in. This one went short to set up a hard cross the goalkeeper couldn't handle cleanly, and Rojas beat the defenders to the rebound for a close-range shot.聽

Wenatchee put more numbers into its attack after halftime and it paid off when a free kick bounced around near the top of the six-yard box before a deflected shot beat goalkeeper Luis Birrueta. Vega said his team responded to that frustrating goal well and took advantage of a more exposed back line to find an answer and keep threatening until the final whistle.

Birrueta came up with two saves the rest of the match and his Tacoma Stars teammate, Missael Lopez, finished a breakaway to give Yakima its third goal. Daniel Farias added one more after Corbin Herrera won a race to the ball on the right wing and sent it across to the speedy Sunnyside graduate.

A deep bench benefited the Hoppers on a hot day with unlimited substitutions, especially since Vega said about four players traveled to Olympia for a hard-fought league 3-1 loss on Saturday. Yakima United had already secured the Evergreen Premier League's regular season title and will begin the playoffs as the top seed next Saturday at 6 p.m. against Port Orchard.

The Hoppers reclaimed the Super Cup title after a 2-1 first-round loss to Seagam FC in 2025. They capped off a dominant run to the inaugural championship in 2023 with a 7-0 win over the Wenatchee All-Stars and then beat 3 Cities FC 2-1 in extra time in the 2024 final.

Vega said last year's frustrating loss made Sunday's final especially important, and the appearance of his full squad reflected that mindset. Their聽impressive run of recent success includes the last two EPLWA championships and their聽confidence showed as they possessed the ball well, staying on the front foot for virtually the full 90 minutes.

"We take that attitude into everybody we play against," Vega said. "It's not arrogance, it's that we believe we're capable of beating anyone."

First half: 1, Yakima, Jose Marquez (Diego Lopez), 6:00. 2, Yakima, Isaiah Rojas, 28:00.

Second half:聽3, Wenatchee, Carlos Viramontes, 52:00. 4, Yakima, Missael Lopez (Jackson Rotondo), 56:00. 5, Yakima, Daniel Farias (Corbin Herrera), 41:00.

Saves: Wenatchee 3, Luis Birrueta (Y) 2.