Bend FC Timbers U18 team begins play Thursday at the 2023 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Orlando, Florida. It's the first time the Central Oregon team has been invited to the national tournament.

Neither the players nor the coach of the U18 Bend FC Timbers soccer team imagined they would still be playing this late into the summer. That’s mainly because no club team from Central Oregon had done it before.

In the past, players that make up the U18 team had their seasons end in the State Cup semifinals, just short of qualifying for regionals. Their coach, who moved to Bend from the East Coast less than two years ago, thought he would simply be in an administrative role for the club.

“I didn’t think it was a journey I would be on, but I’m grateful that it happened,” said Wayne Price, the executive director of Bend FC and coach of the U18 team. “I wasn’t supposed to be coaching.”

Next week, the team will play in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships at Orlando, Florida’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. It will compete against the country’s top club soccer teams. No Central Oregon soccer team has ever advanced as far as this year’s U18 squad.

“We are all stoked,” said Jesse Deperro, who played goalkeeper for Summit before graduating this spring. “I couldn’t ask for a better way to wrap up my soccer career.”

Bend FC qualified in late June for the trip to Orlando.

“I don’t think a single person believed that we could go to the finals,” said Tommy Anderson, who played midfield for Bend High and graduated this spring.

“Or even get into the group stage.”

The Far West Regional Championship was formatted like the World Cup, in which a team must finish in the top two of its group to advance to the knockout round. Bend FC won all three of its games in group play, with a 2-1 win over Utah Soccer Alliance, a 5-0 win over Olympiacos FC Academy (Southern California), then earned a spot in the knockout round with a 3-2 win over Tuzos Academy (Arizona).

“To go out there and win, our group is something that we should all be proud of,” Anderson said.

“We didn’t even think we were going to get out of the group stage,” added Deperro.

In the eight-team knockout round, Bend FC defeated Hawaii Rush 3-1 in the quarterfinals, then took down Utah Soccer Alliance for the second time, winning 1-0 in the semifinals to advance to the championship round against Las Vegas Sports Academy.

In the three group stage games, Bend FC allowed just three goals. In six games, the team only allowed five goals and had two shutouts.

“It was all about the communication and commitment keeping the ball from going on the net,” Deperro said. “Everyone was laying their body on the line.”

In the June 29 championship match, Las Vegas and Bend FC were tied at the end of regulaion, then remained tied after two overtime periods.

“The two teams couldn’t be separated,” Price said.

Las Vegas ultimately won the match in penalty kicks, scoring five PKs to Bend’s three, to claim the Far West Regional Championship. Still, the team received an invite to make the trip to Orlando and play against the best soccer clubs in the country.

“The fact that we went all the way, competed really well and lost in penalties, the invite (to go to nationals) was welcomed,” Price said. “So we decided to go.”

While there, they will play in a four-team group with teams from Missouri, Maryland and Illinois. Bend FC’s first game is Thursday against Libertyville FC (Illinois).

“I wanted them to play in top competition,” Price said. “I wanted to take this group on this journey.”

But for a group of players that has been together for nearly a decade, it’s a chance to play on the country’s biggest stage in club soccer. It is also about spending one final week together.

“We are going to have our excitement and our nerves against some of the best teams in the country,” Deperro said. “This is going to be the last tournament I am going to be playing with these boys. I am excited for one more run with these boys who I’ve been playing with for so long.”

In just a short amount of time, the team has raised more than $15,000 for its travel fees to make the trip. The team hopes to reach $20,000 in donations for the trip.

Price said: “It has been amazing to see the community pull together to make this a reality for the boys.”