Ballard FC second year soccer team off to hot start with ties to Federal Way

Second year soccer club Ballard FC took its first loss on June 23 against Oly Town FC 3-2.

The Bridges first season went about as good as they could have hoped, making it to the semifinals of the USL 2 playoffs. The USL 2 consists of over 115 teams which stretches across the nation and 17 divisions. On Friday, Interbay Stadium was sold out and the Bridges were riding an eight game winning streak so far in the 2023 campaign.

One of the Co-Founders of Ballard FC is Federal Way’s own and former Seattle Sounder and Tacoma Star Lamar Neagle. There is also a Federal Way native on the roster who is currently a defender at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Zane Baumgardt.

The 3-2 loss for Ballard is the first time this season they have allowed an opponent to score more than two over their first nine games. Throughout their first six games Ballard gave up just two goals and outscored their opponents 25-2.

However over their last three they have allowed seven and are only outsourcing their opponents by two during that stretch.

The defense struggled from the opening whistle in the game against Oly. On seemingly the third touch of the game, the Artisans sent a ball over the top to winger- Gilbert De La Luz. The former Western Washington Viking sent a ball into the penalty area and Richy Lapointe-Guevara gave the Artisans a lead in the first minute of action.

After the early goal, it seemed like Ballard settled in. There were much more opportunities for the home side and they controlled possession throughout the next 15-20 minutes. But again Oly Town created problems, this time Ballard couldn’t clear a ball in the penalty area and paid the price. De La Luz took advantage and scored the second goal, stunning the home fans. Within a half hour, Oly Town had a 2-0 lead, stunning the home crowd.

The game got physical from that point moving forward, the first booking was Ballard’s Carlos Alvarez-Ancona. This spurred a total of eight yellow cards between the two sides for the entirety of the game.

Ballard however, was on the positive side of an Artisan yellow card inside the 18 yard box granting a penalty kick for the Bridges. Former Seattle U midfielder Peter Kingston cashed in the penalty kick and put Ballard on the board in the 36th minute.

In the waning minutes of the first half a window of opportunity presented itself to Ballard. Oly Town midfielder Federico Russo received his second yellow of the match which resulted in a red card and Ballard would have a man advantage for the rest of the game.

To start off the second half the Bridges had a huge surge in energy and quality putting a lot of pressure on Oly Town. Ballard got the equalizer they had worked so hard for in the first twelve minutes. Taketo Onodera made a run down the right sideline and found the head of Jeremy Opong who was a halftime substitute for Ballard.

Ballard couldn’t quite get the go ahead goal, and with four minutes of added time looked to escape with a draw and remain unbeaten.

But Dante Perez had other ideas for how the game should end. Perez found himself with the ball inside the 18 yard box and slotted the ball into the net and Oly Town stole a win from Ballard. The defeat to Oly Town is the first time the Ballard FC franchise lost a game in the month of June.

At the end of the contest the two sides got into a shoving match that never amounted to anything more than words and pushing. But these two sides look to be developing a rivalry for the rest of this year and possibly years to come.

Ballard’s next contest at home is June 30, and as they look to clinch a playoff spot with a win. For those interested, get your tickets fast as more and more games are selling out.