This is the third article in a series on Oregon soccer. For the other two articles, check out part 1, which focuses on Timbers U23, and part 2, which focuses on Lane United.

Soccer is the most-participated youth sport in Oregon; in addition to the normal parks and rec leagues, there are, of course the pay-to-play youth soccer clubs—but born from those youth organizations are players and coaches who want to provide an opportunity to play soccer at a competitive level for those who are no longer in a position to participate in youth leagues. These squads are popping up all over Oregon, some join national leagues like NPSL or UPSL, while others stay in regional leagues like the GPSD (Greater Portland Soccer District). Recently, FCM Portland, of the NPSL, qualified for the first round of the US Open Cup while IPS FC, previously of the OPSL (Oregon Premier Soccer League) and now in the GPSD, nearly earned their way into the USOC’s first round, by winning multiple times in the qualifying rounds.

There are very strong squads in Oregon’s grassroots ranks, largely consisting of players from the Pacific Northwest; whether born here or transplanted as college students. Nearly all of the players on PDX FC’s side are made up from student-athletes from Universities all over Oregon and Washington. The coaches and owners of all of these sides have, for the most part, gone through the same experiences and are now dedicating their time to helping along soccer players from all walks of life pursue their passion of playing the sport a high caliber. An Oregonian sports institution, Oregon SportsBeat wants to provide opportunity as well and have created the Oregon Open Cup. In its inaugural year, the Cup has drawn together four teams who represent Oregonian grassroots soccer and pitted them against one another in a single-elimination tournament. To get the whole picture, we reached out to Ryan Johnson, the organizer of the Cup and voice of Oregon SportsBeat.

IPS FC, led by long-time coach Harvey Hurst, recently faced NPSL side Academica SC from Turlock, CA in the US Open Cup qualifiers.

How long has Oregon Sports Beat been covering local soccer? What else do you cover and what is your organization's mission?

SportsBeat started in 2012 as cable TV show in Portland. I hosted, and my guests were coaches from local sports programs. Harvey Hurst, who was the coach for my IPS over-30 team, was the first guest on the TV show. We started streaming all sports, including soccer, in 2014. We now cover select high school soccer programs and men's amateur teams. SportsBeat's mission is to promote local teams and players.

This is the inaugural Cup; when did you first think about putting together an Oregon Open Cup? What was the motivation?

The inspiration for this tournament format came from the 2012 US Open Cup, when a semi-pro side Cal FC went through a number of professional teams as they advanced in that year's tournament. I saw their game against the Portland Timbers, and remember being very impressed with how passionately they played. I decided to start the tournament this year because I blew out my knee the first game of the spring season, which abruptly ended my playing career. Since then I've had extra time on my hands, and when I put out the idea in front of a few knowledgeable people, they got behind it right away. I knew with the right team in place we could make it happen.

The Johnston Cup, a precursor to the Oregon Open Cup; maintained by Oregon SportsBeat.

How did you decide on the number of teams involved and what's in it for them to participate? Are there any additional sponsors contributing? Is there a physical cup or trophy?

It started out as an idea to play just 1 game this year- featuring 2 top finishers in local leagues- and grow the tournament in year 2. But as the idea spread it was clear we could make a high-quality field of four teams. The focus this year has been getting high quality teams into the tournament who would be available on relatively short notice, as planning for this year's tournament didn't start until mid-June when the rest of my spring sports were finished. The last tournament of this kind was called the Johnston Cup, which ended in 1989.

PDX FC, FCM Portland, IPS FC, and TFA Willamette U23s... what would it take to add Starphire from Southern Oregon, Lane United from Eugene, Farewell FC from Bend, etc... next year? It makes the tournament longer, but does that come with more organizational issues?

There are plans to expand the tournament next year. There will likely be qualifying to get into the final eight, and yes of course Starphire, Lane, Farewell and whoever else is welcome to try and qualify, if they are not already an automatic qualifier. It costs $500 to get in the tournament, and there is a cash prize for the winner. The prize amount is modest this year but will grow as the tournament develops.

Lane United of USL League 2 vs Southern Oregon Starphire of UPSL; both welcome to apply for the Oregon Open Cup in 2020.

Where are the matches? What does it cost to get in and do you need any volunteers? If folks can't get there, how can they watch the match; will it be streamed? And if we miss it, can we catch it later in the weekend?

We aim to have all games take place on soccer specific, high-quality grass fields. We aren't able to always get this, but that will continue to be a goal. All games will be streamed live on OregonSportsBeat.com, free to view live and on-demand.

Interest in women's soccer is at its peak right now, what would it take for Oregon Sports Beat to organize a similar women's amateur cup for Oregonian teams? Volunteers? Sponsors?

This tournament has an experienced team of people getting behind a good idea, and that's what’s pushing it forward. I'd love to see the women's side have the same opportunity.

- Joshua Duder

Both FC Mulhouse Portland and PDX FC of the NPSL are in the Cup – the two sides are… familiar with each other.

Oregon SportsBeat has provided links to their broadcasts and tournament information.

Link to all live game broadcasts

Link to tournament info

For more information about FCMP

For more information about IPS FC

For more information about PDX FC

TFA Willamette U23s play their soccer throughout the Central Willamette Valley – “Total Football Academy” have the pedigree to be competitive, to catch the Athleticos vs PDX FC, be sure to follow the Oregon SportsBeat links above.

Our NPSL Pre Season coverage continues with the kicking off of a brand-new segment for the website – Player Profiles. We start with a player from NPSL’s Northwest Conference who was on the FC Mulhouse Portland squad which won the Western Regional Championship and went all the way to the league semi-finals in 2018. We reached out to Jay Garmondeh, who tells me he’s divided on the Messi vs Ronaldo issue, as he is a fan of both of their play—although, Jay did admit he’s more of a Barcelona fan...

Let's start at the start, you play for NPSL Northwest side FC Mulhouse Portland, did you grow up in Portland? Where did you go to school? Did you play soccer at school or club soccer or both?

Yes I play for FC Mulhouse Portland wearing the number 10. I grew up in Liberia, which is a country in West Africa and I lived there for 12 years before coming to the US. In Liberia, soccer is very popular in terms of how often it’s played in communities and watching it on TV, it’s part of our culture. There are no academy or organized leagues so you growing up learning to play on the streets with friends. You create a team with your friends and find other communities of kids to play against in a game. We played bare footed without cleats or shin guards and we made jerseys out of t-shirts and wrote numbers on them. I remember soccer was an everyday thing for me; after school or on the weekends I would just walk around my neighborhood trying to find pickup games. Those were the best time.

When I got to the US it was in the summer and my dad was a referee so I would follow him to his games. That was when I got exposed to organized soccer and saw kids playing with matching jerseys, shin guards and cleats all the time.

I started playing soccer in the US at recreational level at the Aloha Youth soccer club. Then I got invited to play competitive with the Westside Metros academy (which is now the Westside Timbers academy) where I played throughout middle school. I had to stop playing for the club after middle school because the money was too much for my family. I was disappointed by that but I understood. I went to Aloha High School in Beaverton, OR and I didn't play soccer in high school because I was part of a competitive cross-country team.

Did FCMP recruit you or did you go looking for the next level and came across them? How's the standard of play there versus what you've seen playing other NPSL clubs?

In college I was recruited to run track and cross country but after a year or so I decided I want to play competitive soccer again. I started training by myself, then playing in Sunday leagues to keep gaining experience until a friend of mine told about a team he used to play for and he took me there to train and tryout for them. Back then it was the Portland Spartans which is now FCM Portland. I’ve been with the club ever since and this upcoming season will be my fourth season with them and I would like to wear the captain’s armband one day.

Jay and the NPSL West Regional Champions (Photo courtesy: J. Garmondeh)

Compared to other NPSL clubs, the standard of play on my club has gotten better then when I first started playing there and I feel like we are there now. Our coach wants us to be discipline and to work for the team so if you’re coming off the bench you have to be ready to make an impact.

What position(s) do you play? What drives you? Are you looking to make it to the next level or are you just enjoying life and playing on the side?

I am a winger, left or right but my best position is the left wing. I also have experience as a striker or an attacking mid. I am very competitive and passionate about the game and that's what drives me. On my team you have college players and former pros with lots of experience so to be able to compete with them I have to work harder. Which means training by myself at school in terms of running, passing the ball against the wall, shooting, weight room and skill moves. To compete with the other team in the league I have to be ready mentally. This off season I focused on attacking and improving my left foot to be more accurate with it.

We don’t get lot of exposure in the NPSL but I definitely would like to play at the next level. Right now, I'm in school at Oregon State studying electrical engineering so that has priority but I train on my free time to improve my game.

How do you know when you've "Made it?" What does that mean to you? If USL or a NPSL Pro team came knocking, would you give it a shot?

At this level I always need to work on my game and there is always more room for improvement. As a player you’ve made it when you are playing at the most competitive level and we soccer players have lots of ambition. If a USL or NPSL pro team came knocking it would be a huge opportunity and a decision would be after talking with my family. I have about a year and a half left in school before I graduate but you never know. Right now, I’m just focus on working for my team.

Who are you most looking forward to playing against this season? Is there an actual rivalry with PDX FC or are they just two clubs in the same town in the same league?

This season I’m looking forward to playing against Spokane Shadow, they were first in the conference last season and I’m sure they have gotten better. Yes, there is a rivalry with PDX FC, it’s very intense playing against them. I think they will be one of the tougher teams in our conference this year. They also have Ryo (Asai) who will have a full season with them and he’s really good. It makes me happy to know that both of our teams represent Oregon in the NPSL and I hope more clubs join our conference from Oregon.

You guys went pretty far in the playoffs last year; give me your predictions, who wins the Conference? Region? and League?

It’s hard to make predictions because of the quality of teams we have to compete against. We can only focus on what we can control which is working hard in practice to develop chemistry within our team, being discipline and adding more depth to our team. I think if we can do that, we will have a successful season. But each year our focus is winning the league and hopefully we can do that.

For more information about FC Mulhouse Portland: http://fcmportland.com/

Player Profile graphic artwork provided by Cory Mizer. For more of his artwork, check out his gallery on our site.

The State of Soccer: Oregon Part 3

Player Profile: Jay Garmondeh