The Crossfire Premier Elite Club National League GU-16 soccer team arrived at SeaTac Airport in early July with some hardware from a coveted tournament on the East Coast.

The GU-16 team captured third place at the Elite Clubs National League tournament, capturing a 3-2 win against FC Massachusetts in the third/fourth place game on July 9.

Sophie Hirst scored the game-winning goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Hirst scored two goals in the win and teammate Anna Henderson scored one goal as well.

Crossfire Premier Elite Club National League GU-16 soccer head coach Billy Wiskel said it was the third consecutive year his team advanced to the “Final Four.” Wiskel’s squad went 4-0 at a national qualifier tournament in San Diego to advance to the Elite Clubs National League tournament.

“It was a great accomplishment,” Wiskel said of his team capturing third place. “Obviously our goal is to win the national title. We definitely felt we were capable but just fell a little bit short. We’re proud of what we did.”

Wiskel wasn’t surprised to see his team win the third place/fourth place game in the final minute of regulation.

“We scored in the last minute and I thought that was kind of ideal because that has been our MO (mode of operation) all year,” Wiskel said. “We are a really resilient team and are always finding a way to grind out games and win. It was just so fitting to capture the game the way we did. It resembled a lot of this team’s personality.”

Wiskel, who has coached the team for the past three seasons, said team chemistry plays a vital role in the success of his club.

“Obviously they are a talented team but the biggest thing with this group is their character,” he said. “They truly capture the concept of what a great team is. They really respect each other and that compensates for a lot of the small things that happen in a game. They are a close-knit group. A big core of the team has played together since they were 8 years old.”