The Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association’s U11 team, after its tournament championship victory.

A team comprised of players from Astoria and Seaside recently won the boys’ U11 championship match of the Oregon Founders Cup, hosted by the Oregon Youth Soccer Association.

The team from the North Coast represented the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association (LCYSA) in the annual tournament, which was held Nov. 20 at Buckman Field in Portland.

During the regular season, the LCYSA U11 team outscored opponents 63 goals to 10. The team’s dominance in their division earned them an invitation to participate in the Founders Cup, an end-of-season tournament for Division 1 and 2 Classic soccer teams from Oregon and southwest Washington.

Competing in Division 2, the LCYSA team faced stiff competition throughout the tournament, but bested a field of 18 teams in order to raise the first place trophy. In the group stage, the team finished at the top of its division by outscoring opponents, 15-2.

On Nov. 13, they won 4-0 in a quarterfinal match against McMinnville, which had also finished first in group play. The Astoria-Seaside team advanced to the semifinals, where the locals defeated Club Pelada Academy, 3-1.

In the championship match, the team of LCYSA players trailed 3-1 at halftime, but the team rallied for a 4-3 win over Portland United.

Goalkeeper Gus Lawrence highlighted the victory with a big save at the end of regulation.

In the Founders Cup, the LCYSA team outscored opponents 26-6. The win marked the first time in LCYSA’s long history that a Founders Cup Trophy has been brought home to the North Coast.

Coached by Nathan Daniels and Richard Marshall, team members include Tomas Banuelos, Jonah Catt, Nolan Daniels, Axel Peón Garcia, Flynt Goin, Stillwater Jordan, Riff Klumper, Atticus Koeppen, Gus Lawrence, Liam Major, Maleek Marshall, Henry McCracken, Hunter Merrill and Gustavo Olivo.