Gorge FC continues its summer success

“For being a team that hasn’t been playing together for a long time, they’re improving pretty fast in their American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) bronze division,” said Ascencio, who has coached The Dalles youth soccer clubs for eight years. “They all know each other, and they all attend the same school and they’re just a great bunch of kids. I’m very proud of them for competing so well throughout the summer in all of the tournaments that we’ve entered. We’ve been working hard, nonstop since the beginning of the season in the spring and it’s starting to show in the great amount of success that we’ve had at every tournament.”

All but one of the players attend The Dalles Middle School. Ascencio has coached some of the boys since they were age six and he has helped them develop into talented players who likely will be future members of the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) Class 4A The Dalles High Riverhawks boys soccer team.

Players on the team include German Lazaro, William Renteria, Cesar Alvarez, Giovanni Quintero, Raul Grafias, Sebastian Alvarado, Efrain Hernandez, Julian Verdusco, Kevin Pille, Daniel Ascencio, Maximiliano Sedano, Julian Rodriguez, Ismael Cervantes, and Cesar Ciriano.

“We’re a small community and we’re competing very well in big tournaments against high level Portland area teams that are in premier AYSO divisions,” said Ascencio. “We're in the division 2 and we’re competing against higher ranked teams and we’re beating them. That’s a big accomplishment for us to beat premier bronze teams and that’s a big step for them, especially coming from a small community like The Dalles.”

The team has entered four tournaments this year, which include seven teams in each division. They’ve won medals in three of the four events, including two first-place trophies and one second-place trophy. Gorge FC players pay $300 a year to participate on the team and the entry fee for the team to compete in tournaments is $985.

A special highlight this year for the team was winning the bronze division Adidas Beaverton Cup championship in a seven-team tournament July 19-21.

“Every game we play is a big game and we’re stepping up our competition level,” said Ascencio, whose son, Daniel, plays on the team. “These are not just recreational league games. They’re very competitive soccer tournaments. I’m super proud of our boys, because sometimes when we’re playing against other teams, our players are not as big as our opponents in terms of their size. But with the way they play with all their hearts, they’re like the biggest kids out there. It’s amazing to see how well they play and compete so well against older kids and it’s great to see their good development.”

The team relies on sponsors, including Mount Adams Fruit Company and Tacos Tumbras in The Dalles, in order to compete in the Piomonte Gorge League. Gorge FC will play in its next event Aug. 17-18 in the Portland City United (PCU) tournament in Portland. The financial support of its sponsors paid 100 percent of the team’s entry fee in its past two tournaments this summer.