Like many semi-professional USL2 rosters, the 2023 Ballard FC roster has been rather fluid with some recent changes as some players are leaving and also new additions are arriving.
Regarding players leaving the roster permanently, we’ve had four players do so: defender Ben Do, midfielder Johnny Ramirez, goalkeeper Jadon Bowton, and midfielder Imanol Rosales.
We have also had a few players leave who may or may not return before the season is over. Midfielder Hyungjoon Lee was called to do his mandatory military service with South Korea and will be unavailable until that is completed. Forward Alex Mejia, who scored 7 goals in his 5 appearances this season, has impressed enough to earn a trial with Real Espana, a first-division professional club in Honduras. We are so excited for Alex and wish him the best of luck.
There are two players who have left us temporarily but will be back in the near future. The 4th leading goalscorer in USL2, Stas Korzeniowski has had some family matters to attend to in the Netherlands and will miss this Friday’s match. However, he will be back for the remainder of the season after Friday. Midfielder Jibril Rodet has also had some family matters in Europe and is currently in France but will be back in the coming weeks.
In terms of mid-season roster additions, Ballard FC has made a total of five new signings. Last week we announced the trio of Bryan De la Rosa, Alec Zimmerman, and McCoy Hennes to our roster. De la Rosa is a forward who plays for Bellevue College and made his Ballard FC debut on Sunday as he came on at the end of that 1-1 draw. Zimmerman plays in midfield and was actually a member of the 2022 Oly Town FC USL2 roster and is a welcome addition to our midfield unit. Hennes is a defender for Whitman College and provides some much-needed depth to a Ballard FC backline that has been rather depleted as of late.
Lastly, we have two more new signings to announce this week. Eric Lagos, a striker for Yale University in the Ivy League, will be joining the roster. With Mejia on a pro trial and Korzeniowski in Europe, Lagos provides some needed cover upfront for Ballard FC. Lagos joins goalkeeper Conrad Lee as the second Yale player on our roster. Our second signing to be announced this week is a returner from the 2022 Ballard FC roster, midfielder Declan McGlynn. McGlynn returns to Ballard FC after competing in The Soccer Tournament (TST), a nationally televised 7v7 tournament in which McGlynn’s Sneaky Fox FC finished in the semifinals. After starting almost every match for Ballard FC in 2022, McGlynn will look to be a key contributor once again this season.
Look out for some of these new additions in Friday’s match against CFC Atletico. With all four home USL2 matches selling out this season, be sure to grab your tickets now!
