Welcome back to This Week in Timbers Army Football Club news, brought to you by the fine folks at 107ist. It’s been a while since we completed the Fall 2011 campaign that saw the promotion of one club to the top division, a championship match berth for another, and some amazing soccer played by all. As the calendar turns to spring, the TAFC clubs are beginning their Spring season in the Greater Portland Soccer District leagues. There’s been a couple of new additions and a rebranding of another club for those keeping track at home.

For those not aware, the 107ist created the Timbers Army Football Club network of clubs to give Timbers Army members the opportunity to play on affiliated clubs with fellow soccer fans in an organized fashion. The collective also gives teams the opportunity to spread the word about Portland Timbers soccer and the collective work of the Timbers Army in supporting their team, their community, and those in need.  The 107ist provides financial and organizational support, taking much of the organizational headaches away from teams and their managers. Currently, there are nine member clubs participating in various leagues about Portland, with more clubs scheduled to join soon.

TAFC will have two clubs participating in the GPSD Division 1, FC Dynamo and FC Portlandia. FC Dynamo started playing in 1996, and has undergone various name changes, league updates, and other modifications over the years, but since 2008 has been a staple of the top division. They won the title in Spring 2011, and soon after hoisting the title, they saw an opportunity to join TAFC as a member club.  Joining them is FC Portlandia, one of the original members of the TAFC Umbrella. Formed in 2009 and starting play in the Winter Term, the boys in purple started in the lower divisions of play but won promotion to Division 1 with their inspired play during the Fall 2011 term.

GPSD Division 4, the lowest level of open play soccer within their framework, will have four TAFC clubs participating in the Spring 2012 session: Cascade Rangers FC, Northern Alliance FC, North End United and Rose City Athletic.  Cascade Rangers FC is the new brand of the original Timbers Army Football Club that started play in 2008 as the inaugural club. Cascade Rangers FC won the first ever North End Cup against the team that would eventually form North End United, who started play in the Spring of 2010. North End United completed an undefeated season in the Fall 2011 campaign, qualifying for the division final after playing their final regular season match in less than ideal conditions. Unfortunately, some unfortunate breaks and questionable officiating pushed their opponent to the win and promotion, but NEU hopes this season will continue their recent success.

Both Cascade Rangers FC and North End United have been consistent members of GPSD Division 4, and they were joined in the spring of 2011 by Rose City Athletic.  Like NEU and CRFC, RCA has a wide mix of players in terms of age and skill level, but they set the standard in fashion when it comes to kits.  Matches between these clubs have been marked with some spirited play, but always within the vein of friendly respectful play amongst supporters.  The three teams will be joined by one of the newest TAFC club, Northern Alliance FC. Northern Alliance FC is the combination of two indoor clubs formed in Vancouver,WA comprised of Timbers Army members that live on the other side of the Columbia River.  Needless to say, there should be a huge amount of derby matches happening between these four clubs in the coming months.

Another team was formed in time for the Spring Term for some of the more senior members that still want to get out on the pitch from time to time, knees and backs willing. Old Growth FC will begin play in the Over 40 Division 2 league, and is made up of former members of Cascade Rangers FC, Deacon Blue (a long time GPSD member with many TA members involved) along with other TA members that wanted to return to the game after a long hiatus. Old Growth FC also has a female player on its roster, giving anyone over the age of 40 the chance to come out and kick the ball around without breaking anything. Having begun practicing in October, OGFC hopes to be competitive amongst the 16 clubs in their grouping.

TAFC isn’t focused strictly on the outdoor game as there are two affiliated futsal clubs that play regularly, 101st FC and Coat? FC. The eventual goal of TAFC is to have affiliated clubs at every level and league that will give fans of all ages, genders and playing ability the chance to play competitive soccer regularly. Each week, we will do our best to highlight the week’s matches featuring all TAFC clubs in a fun and entertaining manner.  Because of the Portland Timbers game schedule, many league matches within GPSD will be played on weeknights between now and the end of June when the Spring season is done.

For those fans interested in seeing the action up close, four of the TAFC teams will be in action on April 4 at the Delta Park Soccer Complex in North Portland, with all matches starting at 6:45 PM Portland time. North End United will play Northern Alliance FC in their first match ever, while Rose City Athletic will play May Day, a long time member of GPSD soccer that has Timbers Army members on their roster. Old Growth FC will also play its first match ever against Optimators FC. Because of the Wednesday match dates for many of the TAFC teams, our weekly recap will run sometime on Thursdays once all game action has been completed and results are submitted by each team manager. Thanks for reading, and up the TAFC!