PUYALLUP, WA -- Brandon Cardin’s second goal of the preseason put the reigning WSYSA Challenge Cup champions on the road to victory in the PDL Derby, and second half goals by Grant Young and Alexander Schneller completed the scoring 20 minutes after half-time.

The result ended the Crossfire’s ability to keep WPFC from scoring more than one goal per match and also allowed Premier to take a 3-2 lead in matches versus their arch rivals in the 2009-10 season. But more importantly it put not only Crossfire but the entire PDL that WPFC is again in pole position to retain their state title.

Not only are they three goals better on the day than their opponent, Premier also dominated the time of possession.

WPFC coach Abdella Hussen sprang a surprise with his line-up, starting with Brandon Cardin and Alexander Schneller up top, Jaylon Bond and Dacin Titus on the. That perhaps contributed to a cagey first half which produced plenty of action around the Crossfire goal.

That would be the only goal, and indeed the only real opportunity, of a stop-start opening period, although Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain blazed a reasonable opening well over in the 40th minute after getting in behind Gerard Pique. The second half started with no new faces on the pitch, although Abdella did re-shuffle his line-up, with Jaylon Bond switching to right-back from right wing being one of four position changes. Crossfire immediately looked more purposeful after the restart and they finally gave Tanner Premo something to do in the 51st minute when a Crossfire forward tried his luck.

However, three minutes after that Premier doubled their lead through Cardin - and it proved the beginning of the end for Crossfire.

Titus was the creator, with his pass evading defenders and sending Schneller through, and the forward coolly slotted past Cardin from the edge of the box.

Premo would find himself increasingly busy in the next 10 minutes as Crossfire desperately tried to find a foothold back into game. Schneller, who was starting to come alive, was twice denied by Crossfire custodian.

The more their opponents pushed forward, though, the more chance Premier had of notching a third on the break, and that’s exactly what happened in the 71st minute when Young completed a penalty kick after Schneller was brought down in the box under a sliding challenge.

In the 77th minute Erik Wiseman picked out Schneller’s run into the area, with Schneller converting a shot in the lower right hand corner.