The recent cancelation of North Kitsap’s annual soccer fest, Viking Cup, is an unfortunate thing in a community where soccer reigns supreme. The soccer tournament, usually played in late May, gives us ample opportunity to host hundreds of shin guard-clad kids and fill the stands with supportive parents. These kids and parents also stimulate the economy with their overnight stays, restaurant visits and by picking up North Kitsap-ish knick knacks to take home.

Not only is it a loss of fun for the players, it’s a loss of cash for the local economy and the North Kitsap Soccer Club (NKSC) which uses funds raised to support its own operations.

In comes the Kitsap Pumas: A group of guys whose endearing passion for the love of soccer drives their every breath.

The Pumas have agreed to partner with the NKSC to play their first preseason game right here in North Kitsap and donate proceeds from the game to the NKSC. On April 18, the Pumas will take to the field at the North Kitsap Stadium, breathing life into honest-to-goodness professional soccer right here in Kitsap County.

Ben Pecora, the spokesman for the Kitsap Pumas, said, “We thought what would be a great thing to do was to have our first match back there in Poulsbo. Viking Cup went away, and we thought, ‘This would be a great way to restore some of those dollars back into the community.’ ”

Yeah. What he said.

What a great opportunity this is for both NKSC and the Kitsap Pumas. For starters, professional soccer is a welcome, family-friendly venue. And by using the first game as a fundraiser for NKSC, the Pumas have extended an olive branch to North Kitsap.

We shall accept it.

Prices will be announced soon.