Preeminent tiny titans of the youth soccer scene, the Bainbridge Island Football Club’s boys under 11 youth team remained undefeated at the Washington Youth Soccer Founders Cup at Starfire Sports in Tukwila over the weekend and claimed the championship trophy, capping a historic season-long trek on the comeback trail after a nondescript start.

After an undistinguished summer tournament season, Head Coach Phil Avison explained, the team embarked into the North Puget Sound League (NPSL) fall season.

Through September and October, the team played ever better, continuing to focus on the fundamentals and sticking to the program’s core values, and by Halloween their 7-0 record had all but guaranteed the league championship.

The boys went on to round out a perfect fall season (12-0) at Starfire Sports in Tukwila on Sunday, Feb. 7. Through the fall season and post season play, the team’s combined record was an astonishing 19-0.

“That’s kind of unheard of,” Avison said,

“We really weren’t planning to get that far,” he added, recalling the squad’s humble start. “It wasn’t really a strong group going in.”

Strong, however, was exactly the way things ended.

Having claimed the top spot in the league, the team moved to their post season tournament at the Washington State Youth Soccer Association’s Founders Cup late last month.

“If the story was to end there it would be a great tale,” Avison said. “One for the history books. But these 11-year-olds went into BIFC folklore by moving forward from that perfect season and taking it even further.

“Entering a postseason state tournament brought new opponents, new challenges, but the same result,” he added. “The boys just kept on winning.”

Four bracket game wins took the team to a home field quarterfinal, which they won 2-0 with goals from Cyrus Neghabat and Hudson Reholds on Jan. 31 at Battle Point Park.

They then moved on to play Crossfire White at Starfire Sports complex in Tukwila in the semis.

A challenging opponent brought out the best in the team as they produced a dominant performance, Avison said.

A 25-yard free kick by Quinn Barjesteh, he added, proved to be the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory for BIFC, one which ensured them a spot in the finals.

The boys returned to Starfire the very next day to play the top ranked team in the tournament, Seattle United Blue.

The Bainbridge boys showed a confidence and game maturity way beyond their years to be the best team of the day and worthy winners, Avison said.

Two goals from Hudson Reynolds sealed the deal and the boys from Bainbridge became a state championship team.

It was no small feat, Avison said. The competition had proven far more intense than would seem in keeping with the squad’s age and experience level.

“It is so hard to accomplish,” he said. “So hard to be able to overcome all those challenges of a bad day, strong opponent, brutal weather, a poor referee decision or the ball not bouncing your way. These 11-year-old boys were able to overcome all those hurdles to ensure a perfect season.”

Avison said that the squad mostly knew each other even before the season began, as most of them go to school with each other. The boys were already friends, he said, a factor which he believed made a big difference in the long run.

They were also, he said, “mentally very tough” and able to focus on achieving their collective goal.

Though he has brought home state championships before, as the coach of the boys U18 team several years ago, Avison said this was quite a different experience.

“It seems amazing to say it, but they did indeed go beyond perfect,” he said. “Sometimes some things are just meant to be.”