The Whatcom Football Club made sure to defend its home turf.
Seven WFC Ranger teams made the finals out of the 64 teams entered at the Rimland Pacific Cup.
The tournament, which ran Aug. 8-10 at the Northwest Soccer Park, had 10 divisions total, and a Whatcom team made the finals in six of those divisions, with two Whatcom teams squaring off against each other in the U15 division. The U13 COPA Division did not have a Whatcom team represented.
Three of the seven teams managed to take home the top medal.
WFC Rangers GU13 Gold edged out CWSA g01 Navy Washburn 3-2, WFC Rangers GU 00-01 Miller beat WFC Rangers GU15 Gold 1-0 and Whatcom FC Rangers 96 Gold defeated Kitsap Alliance FC 2-0.
The newest team to girls Whatcom FC Ranger soccer, WFC Rangers GU12 Gold, fell in a heartbreaker to Eastside FC G02 White 3-2.
Whatcom FC was up 2-0 following goals by Macy Fawcett in the 11th minute, and Abbie Arnold in the 37th minute shortly into the second half.
Whatcom FC was playing without three key defenders in the tournament, one down due to injury and the other two for vacation.
The lack of players left the team with only two substitutions for most of the tournament and left coach Mary Schroeder the task of putting together a makeshift defensive lineup.
The Rangers were whittled down to even fewer substitution options after Fawcett went down late in the game with a shoulder injury.
Eastside finally broke through the Whatcom defense in the 44th minute and scored its three goals in the final15 minutes for the victory.
The last goal for Eastside came with seconds left on the clock, just slipping through the arms of the keeper after a break through run from the Eastside forward.
'If we get beat by a ball over the top and a footrace, I'm not too disappointed,' Schroeder said.
The summer tournaments are meant as a tune-up for the regular season and Schroeder said she was pleased with the ball movement by her team.
'We make mistakes and learn as a team,' she said. 'It's more about getting better and being as prepared as we can for the regular season.
With her goal and her assist in the final match, Arnold finished with four assists and two goals between the semi-finals and the final. All three of her assists in the semi-final were finished by Fawcett, and the two have become a threat at the top for the Rangers.
'Abbie is super strong, plays with pace and knows how to beat people one on one,' Schroeder said.
The first goal for the Rangers started at the midfield with a run down the right line by forward Kianna Johnson. After Johnson was dispossessed in the corner, Arnold flew in picked up the deflection, dribbled to the end line and sent a soaring cross to the far post where Fawcett put it into the back of the net off her thigh.
Arnold took the second goal herself after receiving the ball at the top right side of the 18-yard box, ripping a shot across the keeper and into the bottom left corner of the goal.
The Rangers still exit with the second place cup and medals.
'It's fun for them to find success in a local tournament with other [local] teams to support them,' Schroeder said.
Four local teams made it into the championship match but could not pull out the victory.
WFC Rangers GU12 Rangers lost 3-2 to Eastside FC G02 White. WFC Rangers GU15 Gold lost to fellow Whatcom team WFC Rangers GU14, who were playing up an ager division. WFC Rangers G98 Gold Connell lost 2-1 to South West United Edmonton and WFC Rangers G97 Gold Connell lost 3-0 to West Sound FC 97.