In the aftermath of last week’s announcement that Tacoma Tide FC would become the Sounders U23s, the dust is settling and the process of deciding working relationships and roles is underway between the Tacoma-based ownership group of the U23s and Sounders Women and Seattle’s Sounders FC.

Darren Sawatzky is the link between the U23s and the MLS side. He already sees positives to the growing partnership. “The relationship between the MLS Sounders and the entity in Tacoma (U23s, Sounders Women) is a good one. Having both myself and Amy Carnell on board has basically interconnected the clubs in a very good way,” Sawatzky says.

“The ownership group of Lane Smith and Cliff McElroy operate the U23s/Women franchise; they are the team that I work for (when it comes to PDL). Mike Jennings (minority Tacoma owner) and I work together on pieces of the technical (soccer) side, and Lane and Cliff are the business side. When it comes to brand awareness and rules we are all working together. We need to check off boxes to make sure the Sounders brand is used appropriately. In the end the guys that own the team (Smith, McElroy) are the people I answer to.”

Pierce County Pride

So why did the two ownership groups get together and create this connection? “The reason we are doing this is to help both entities, and local soccer in general,” Darren explains. “I’m from Federal Way. I whole-heartedly support PDL in the greater Tacoma area. I think South Sound needs a team to support within that community. It makes a heck of a lot of sense to play in Pierce County. To represent that community, to have people come out and watch it. I’m actually very, very excited about it. I mean, I used to be one of those little gym-rats down at the Tacoma Soccer Center when I was a young guy back in the Tacoma Stars MISL days. Just seeing those guys around was huge. We need to try to help build that.”

Sawatzky thinks the South Sound will respond. “If you win people come, and if you are associated with something exciting people come. We are planning on doing both of those things. We want to play attacking, exciting soccer that people want to watch. We are going to play full-pressure football. We want to entertain and we want to enjoy it. We want to get those kids ready for the next level. For their college seasons, and then the pros. We will not be a practice twice a week kind of team. The U23s are for a driven group. We want to mirror the first team as much as possible.”

Sounders FC U-23 will be operated by Pierce County business leaders Lane Smith and Cliff McElroy, who purchased the former Tacoma Tide FC and Sounders Women franchises in November. The Tide, who will now be known as Sounders FC U-23, has been a member of the PDL’s Northwest Division since 2006.

The Sounders FC U-23s will play their home matches in Pierce County. The venue for the games will be announced at a later date.

“By now having an affiliated PDL program, Sounders FC has added an additional piece to our Youth Development Program, creating a bridge between our academy teams and our Major League Soccer first team,” said General Manager Adrian Hanauer. “This allows our college-age players to continue their development and further prepare themselves for the opportunity to compete at the highest possible level and potentially wear the Rave Green someday at CenturyLink Field.”

The Sounders FC Academy, consisting of boys U-15/16 and U-17/18 teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, is now in its second season of play.

“Pierce County has a rich soccer heritage and we are excited to partner with the Sounders to be able to offer Pierce County soccer fans a high-level game experience,” said Sounders FC U-23 co-owner Lane Smith. “The Sounders FC affiliation will allow the U-23 PDL team greater access to top local soccer talent as well as the best college players across the United States” said Smith.

“We are pleased to have Darren Sawatzky as the U-23 coach. Darren has been successful as an MLS player and USL assistant coach as well as the director of the Sounders Youth Development Program. Darren grew up in Federal Way and he has strong ties to the local soccer community,” Smith said.

“Coaching the Sounders FC U-23s is an exciting opportunity for me,” said Sawatzky. “It will be great to watch these players grow and compete at this level and chase the dream of playing at the top level. I look forward to getting started.”

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Port Orchard, Washington---Today goalWA.net and Ruffneck Scarves announce the establishment of a new cup competition featuring all of the state of Washington’s Premier Development League clubs. The Ruffneck Cup will be awarded to the team that earns the most standings points against its rivals during the 2012 regular PDL season. Besides hoisting a trophy the winning side will also receive Ruffneck Championship scarves and be the guest of a local pub for a celebration dinner.

"Ruffneck Scarves is very excited about getting involved with another great Northwest soccer rivalry and tradition,” says founder Jeff McIntyre. “We are always looking at ways we can get involved in our local soccer community, and what better way to show our support than to sponsor a local Puget Sound derby amongst four clubs that promote player development with a high level of competition."

The Ruffneck Cup will feature the defending PDL National Champion Kitsap Pumas out of Bremerton, Sounders U-23’s out of South Sound, the North Sound SeaWolves out of Edmonds, and Washington Crossfire out of Redmond. All four clubs have given their blessing to the new competition.

Washington soccer news, video, photo and feature website www.goalWA.net joins Ruffneck Scarves in sponsoring and promoting the competition. The site will keep the official cup standings and continue its tradition of coverage of the state’s neighborhood soccer clubs.

“It shows a great soccer community spirit to be able to honor these rivalries with a cup celebration,” notes goalWA.net owner David Falk. “Ruffneck Scarves is leading the way with their generous support, and we think local fans, players, coaches and clubs are going to enjoy the new competition this spring and summer.”

The inaugural match in the 2012 Ruffneck Cup is tentatively scheduled for the third week in May when the Sounders U-23’s cross the Narrows Bridge to play Kitsap. The 2012 Premier Development League regular season schedule will be released shortly. Soon after goalWA.net will post a full schedule of matches that count towards the 2012 Ruffneck Cup.

A round trip “as the crow flies” between all four clubs adds up to approximately 93 miles. Via car around the Sound fans can easily see away matches in a same-day trip. Bremerton and Tacoma are approximately 24 miles apart. Redmond and Edmonds are 15 miles away from each other. Ferry boats connect east and west.

Ruffneck Scarves is the official scarf supplier of Major League Soccer and has its home online at www.RuffneckScarves.com. goalWA.net (“goal-wah-dot-net”) is a local online soccer hub connected through social media and has its home base at www.goalWA.net.

The top developmental men’s league in North America, the PDL features over 70 teams within four conferences across the United States and Canada. The PDL season consists of 16 regular season matches for each team, eight home and eight away, and provides elite collegiate players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their eligibility. In addition to league play, PDL teams compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as well as various exhibitions. The PDL has proven to be an important stepping-stone for top professionals now playing throughout the world.