New Grays Harbor Gulls women's team still searching for first win in inaugural season

The Grays Harbor Gulls Football Club women’s team is still searching for its first win of the season after a 6-0 loss to the Washington Premier Legends on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The Gulls (0-3 overall) struggled as and handful of players were unavailable for the game, combined with a key second-half injury and a couple players having to leave early, Grays Harbor had little in the way of reserves toward the end of the match.

“Without those players, it kind of hurt us because girls started getting winded at the end,” Gulls head coach Eddie Roosa said.

Washington Premier scored two goals in the first half and four in the second as Gulls head coach Eddie Roosa experimented with different lineups and strategies for a team that has had very little time on the pitch together.

“It’s absolutely training camp,” Roosa said while acknowledging the team currently lacks conditioning. “We’re a young team and it’s our first season with them. It’s the first season, so let’s see what happens. Second season, we know what to do.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Grays Harbor Gulls midfielder Lillian Katrina (00) turns the ball up field during a 6-0 loss to Washington Premier Legends on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The Gulls adult women’s team was born out of the success of the Gulls under-19 academy program, and hopes to tap into the wealth of quality soccer players throughout the Twin Harbors and surrounding areas.

“The whole point was we were going to try to transition our U19 team with a couple of extra players. We had a successful U19 team, however a lot of those girls have either moved on to college or are still training with their high school coaches, so we had to look elsewhere to build this team,” Roosa said. “So girls are still getting to know each other. … The good things we can take from this is they are learning how each other plays and their tendencies.”

The program also provides an opportunity for local talent to continue to play and improve after their high school careers are over as the Gulls program also performs a recruiting function.

“We want women to continue to play. … With Grays Harbor College shutting down their women’s program, it leaves a lot of girls with nowhere to play. If we give them an opportunity to play here, other clubs also notice them,” Roosa said. “If the women out here get noticed, then we put Grays Harbor a little more on the map and that’s our main focus. We want everyone to know Grays Harbor has soccer players. … We contact colleges and doing the recruiting and say, ‘Hey, come look at us,’ so a lot of these girls are now moving on and going to school. Doing that more and more, Grays Harbor will get noticed.”

The Gulls are scheduled to face the Artesians in a Cascadia Premier League game scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday at Timberline High School (subject to change).

For more information on the Grays Harbor Gulls, visit the Grays Harbor Gulls FC Facebook page or email ghgullsfc@gmail.com.