After two straight 3-0 playoff victories, Ballard FC find themselves back in the USL2 Western Conference Final. They will be facing familiar foes in Ventura County Fusion, the defending USL2 champions, who knocked Ballard FC out at this stage in 2022. With that in mind, Ballard FC are headed to Flint, MI for revenge.
This weekend’s action will start on Friday with Ballard FC v. Ventura County at 3:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT) in the Western Conference Final. That will be followed by the Flint City Bucks v. Des Moines Menace in the Central Conference Final at 7:30 PM ET. Both matches will be played at Atwood Stadium.
Fans looking to watch Ballard FC in the Conference Final can attend the Watch Party at the Reuben’s Brews Taproom or stream live from the Michigan Sports Network YouTube Channel.
Friday’s winners will then face off in the National Semifinals on Sunday, July 30th at 7:00 PM ET (4:00 PM ET). Let’s meet the respective sides with each team only three wins away from lifting the league title.
Ballard FC are having a remarkably similar season in 2023 as they had in their inaugural 2022 season as they are now in another Western Conference Final against the Ventura County Fusion. However, this year the Northwest Division Champions have made easier work of the path to the Elite Eight. Last season, Ballard FC fell short of a division title as they finished second behind CFC Atletico, but this season the Bridges won the division title with a +28 goal differential and double-digit lead on second-placed Oly Town FC. The 2023 postseason run has also been much cleaner this season with two 3-0 wins. Last year, both playoff wins at Interbay were by just one goal, including a Western Conference Semifinal that went to extra time. Ballard FC will look to continue their improvement in 2022 by winning a Western Conference Championship on Friday and getting revenge on the Fusion.
Led by captain Lesia Thetsane and a now healthy Christian Engmann, Ballard FC’s defense has been stout in protecting Lars Helleren’s goal. With the defense playing so strong, Danny Robles and Declan McGlynn have had the time and space to run the matches from midfield and provide service to the dangerous attacking duo of Peter Kingston and Stas Korzeniowski. Interim Head Coach Ethan O’Neill will hope this formula will continue to prove successful this weekend as his side pushes for a title. Now let’s meet the opponents.
The 2022 USL2 Champions come into Friday’s Western Conference Final on a high after beating the San Francisco Glens 4-1 in the Conference Semifinals. The defending champions are led by striker Logan Farrington who had a hattrick against the Glens and scored the lone goal in the Fusion’s 1-0 win over Ballard FC last season. The Fusion have been USL2 Champions twice, in 2009 and 2022 respectively, being one of the more successful clubs in the league’s history. The Fusion lost the division title on the final matchday of the regular season as they lost to Redlands FC 4-1 and finished in second behind the Redlands. But since that loss the Fusion have been back to their best, defeating Nor Cal Division Champions Monterey Bay II 1-0 before their big victory over the Glens.
Farrington, tied for the USL2 regular season golden boot, has four playoff goals in two matches and is the clear man to watch for the Ballard backline. Outside of Farrington, the Fusion defense is led by captain Giovanni Calderon, a returner from last season’s championship side and a member of the 2023 Puerto Rican Gold Cup squad. The battle between Calderon and Korzeniowski will play a significant role in the outcome of Friday’s match. The Western Conference Final should be quite the rematch, but it is not the only big rematch in Flint this weekend.
The Flint City Bucks won the Central Conference Championship in 2022 after defeating the Des Moines Menace in Iowa in front of over 3,000 Menace fans. Last year’s Conference Final was a feisty affair and has sparked a rivalry between the two sides with fans getting after it online. This year, Flint are hosting and will look to repeat last season’s result in front of their home fans. The Bucks come into the Conference Final as Great Lakes Division Champions, and after defeating two division champions in the playoffs. Flint City started with a 3-2 Round of 32 victory over hosts and Valley Division Champions Fort Wayne FC. The Bucks then followed that performance with a 2-0 victory over a Chicago City side that won the Heartland Division and beat the Des Moines Menace twice in the regular season.
Defender Hugo Bacharach scored in their Conference Semifinal victory over Chicago and has been the star man for Flint this season, guiding the defense to clean sheets in half of their matches. Having only lost once all season, Flint will look to keep their winning ways going Friday night to win a Conference Title in front of their fans and push for their 5th USL2 Championship.
Perennial favorites Des Moines Menace are on another playoff run to nobody’s surprise. However, this season they may not be favored to win the Conference final against the hosts. The Menace needed a stoppage-time equalizer to force extra time against the Thunder Bay Chill in the Conference Semis and after losing to Flint in the Conference Final last season, many will see the Menace as underdogs on Friday. Underdogs is not a very common descriptor for the Menace given their storied history with two national championships, 15 Open Cup appearances, and seemingly countless Heartland Division Titles. Outside of losing twice to division champions Chicago City SC, the Menace are a perfect 12-0, so they can be glad Flint were able to beat Chicago in the last round.
In their last match, the Menace beat Thunder Bay Chill 3-2 in extra time with a brace from super-sub Lagos Kunga. The speed from the Menace attack caused problems all match for the Chill and could cause similar issues for Flint, especially late in the match when the defenders start to get tired legs. The Menace actually have a connection to Ballard FC as Ballard FC co-founder Lamar Neagle played for the Menace in the early days of his career before joining the Sounders. With two of the league’s most storied franchises going at it, the Central Conference Final will make quite the nightcap.
Three historic USL2 franchises and another team in only its second-ever season, the Flint Four have been set. It’s going to be fun.
