The playoffs are back at Interbay Stadium this year. This weekend, Ballard FC will host three other teams for the Western Conference Quarterfinals and Semifinals.
The matches are set for Friday, July 21st, and Sunday, July 23rd. Friday’s quarterfinal or Round of 32 matches are set for 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. The early afternoon matchup will be between Park City Red Wolves SC and Oly Town FC followed by Ballard FC hosting New Mexico United U23 later that evening.
The winners of Friday’s matches will then faceoff on Sunday at 2:00 PM in the Western Conference Semifinals. Tickets are still available for all three matches, and fans can purchase single-match tickets or save money by getting all three in a ticket bundle.
Friday night also happens to be a very important night in Women’s Soccer. The United States Women’s National Team kicks off their World Cup campaign against Vietnam at 6:00 PM. Because of this, we will be opening the gates for our 7:30 PM match at 5:30, a half-hour earlier than usual. This way fans can come early and enjoy the Women’s World Cup from our Ballard FC Foundation Beer Garden as we will have TVs set up to watch the match. Next to the Beer Garden, our food options for Friday’s match include Mainstay Provisions, Levantine Cuisine, Kottu, and of course there is Pagliacci Pizza across the street before you come in.
Above is a look at the bracket for the three playoff matches at Interbay Stadium. Now let’s meet the four teams.
Ballard FC had a remarkable inaugural season in 2022 as they finished second in their division, clinched a playoff spot, and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. So far in 2023, Ballard FC is doing even better. This season, Ballard FC finished 10-1-1 in the USL2 regular season, clinching their first Northwest Divison Title, and finishing top five in the entire league based on Points Per Match (PPM). With such a successful regular season in 2023, Coach Ethan O’Neill’s side will be looking to go even further this postseason. Like many USL2 rosters, Ballard FC’s has been fluid this season with mid-season signings and departures. A key departure is Alex Mejia who had 7 goals in 5 appearances before signing professionally for Honduran club RCD España. Making up for Mejia’s absence is key signing Declan McGlynn who played a key role for Ballard FC in 2022 and will look to do the same in these playoffs. Ballard FC has also had changes in coaching as Former Head Coach Jason Farrell has taken a new opportunity and Ethan O’Neill is now Interim Head Coach.
Ballard FC has a very deep roster, giving O’Neill selection headaches each matchday, but we’ll highlight a few key players here. Leading the front line is NCAA Division 1 All-American Stas Korzeniowski who has 8 goals in the 8 matches he’s played and will look to add to his impressive goal tally. Alongside Korzeniowski, the winger pool is led by returners Peter Kingston and Charlie Gaffney. In midfield, former Tacoma Defiance star Danny Robles joins returners like Bailey Letherman and Cameron Martin. The backline is led by another Division 1 All-American, center-back Leo Burney, and Lesotho and Ballard FC captain Lesia Thetsane. Lastly, goalkeeper and Division 2 All-American Lars Helleren is quite familiar with Interbay Stadium having played his college soccer at Seattle Pacific University. Helleren is not the only local college star on the Ballard roster as three other current or former SPU players played this season, alongside four University of Washington and five Seattle University players as well. Now, let’s meet the opponents.
Facing off against Ballard FC on Friday night is New Mexico United U23. For fans who remember last season’s playoffs, New Mexico United U23 is a lot like Project 51O. Project 51O is the youth-focused USL2 team within the Oakland Roots organization. Just like the Roots, New Mexico United is a USL Championship side and uses their U23s similarly to Project 51O. New Mexico United U23 finished second in the Mountain Division after finishing 6-4 on the season. The Mountain Division teams only play 10 matches in the regular season, two less than Ballard FC and the Northwest Division. The U23 roster is very local with 20 of the 27-man roster being from New Mexico and 21 of them having played within the New Mexico United organization before this season. New Mexico United U23 is led by the trio of Miles Merritt, Andres Robles, and Alex Waggoner who all have been signed by the New Mexico United USL Championship side. Like Ballard FC, the New Mexico United U23 side also includes collegiate players from around the country. Grand Canyon University goalkeeper Anthony Muñoz and Wofford defender Paola Vela are among many NCAA Division 1 soccer players on the roster. With USL Championship appearance and local players who grew up playing together, this New Mexico United U23 side could cause some problems for the hosts.
In the other quarterfinal, Oly Town FC will take on Park City Red Wolves SC. Oly Town FC finished with 20 points after going 6-4-2 (W-L-T) this season which was enough for the second playoff spot in the Northwest Division. Oly Town is the only team to beat Ballard FC this season as they won one of their three matches against Ballard. Like Ballard FC and New Mexico United U23, this is only Oly Town’s second season in USL2. The Artesians have had a lot of very eye-catching results this season, with a 6-5 win early in the season against United PDX being the most so. When they lose it is often by multiple goals which is why they made the playoffs with a negative goal differential. However, in close matches, Oly Town was rarely beaten and that is how they defeated both CFC Atletico and United PDX to that final playoff spot. Oly Town are led by University of Washington players Cooper Brunell and Chris Peretti as well as El Salvadorean international Desmond Wade Jr. One of the best stories in all of USL2 this season is Oly Town’s backup goalkeeper Dante Perez who has two stoppage time goals this season playing as a striker. After being the only team to defeat Ballard fc this season, Oly Town will look to become the first team to claim victory against the undefeated Park City Red Wolves.
Park City Red Wolves SC are one of only three teams in all of USL2 without a loss on their record alongside Texas United and Fort Wayne FC. After finishing the season 7-0-3 and clinching the Mountain Division Championship, the Red Wolves will look to keep their unbeaten season going against Oly Town on Friday afternoon. Similarly to New Mexico United U23, Park City is part of a bigger soccer organization as the Chattanooga Red Wolves are a professional USL League One side. The best Park City players will often be promoted to Tennessee to start playing professional soccer. Park City boasts a strong and very balanced team. They have not lost, but they rarely blow out teams and usually win in close matches. This will make their matchup against Oly Town very exciting as the two teams won most of their matches by just a few goals. In their recent match, ParkCity defeated New Mexico United U23 2-1 in a match that was quite similar to most of theirs throughout the season. Rolando Onu scored in that match and is one to keep an eye on as he has been dangerous all season long. The Artesians will need to keep Onu in check if they hope to progress to the second round. Will Park City leave Ballard unscathed or will they return to Utah with a loss on their record?
This weekend will be full of playoff soccer at Interbay Stadium. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets now before they are gone.
