What a dominant bounce back it was for Ballard FC on Sunday night at the historic Memorial Stadium. In a night that celebrated the stadium’s rich history and critical role in local Seattle soccer history, the home side defeated FC Olympia by a score of 5-1, allowing them to solidify their spot at the top of the USL 2 Northwest Division.
Since their last home match, Ballard FC went on a three-fixture road trip. The side went 2W-1L-0D in their travels. The one loss came at the hands of United PDX as they fell 2-1 last Friday night. Ballard FC manager, James Riley, said this regarding the recent loss: “Honestly, the loss on Friday was a little bit unfortunate. I thought we has a lot of the game and what we told the boys, it was small micro-wins that we need to make adjustments [on].” Said adjustments paid dividends on Sunday as Ballard FC displayed resound dominance over FC Olympia.
The scoring got underway in the 4th minute, when FC Olympia’s Chad Sovde headed the ball into the back of the net, thanks to wonderful service from the right side of the pitch. The ball found him unmarked at the back post, allowing him to score with relative ease. Unfortunately for FC Olympia, this would be one of the only positive notes on the night.
After the goal, Ballard FC got to work and began dominating possession. Exploring all areas of the field, the team kept finding spaces to operate in. For the early part of the first half, FC Olympia did well in keeping action in front of them to maintain their lead. The stronghold broke down in the 25th minute when Ballard FC’s fullback Khai Brisco scored a beautiful tally as he shot a great first-time volley from the center of the box. In celebration, Brisco ran towards the middle of the pitch and did some backflips for the fans. After the match, Brisco recalled, “I was right there and I was like, ‘This is my moment. Don’t sky it. If anything, hit it on the ground, hit it clean.’ [Keeper] got a hand to it, but it was too strong, and it went into the back of the net. I had to give the crowd the celebration, so it was like an awesome moment.”
Blake Dahlin / Ballard FC
The thunderous volley was assisted by forward Austin Brummett, who had himself a night to remember as he scored a brace. The first goal came in the second minute of first half stoppage time. Midfielder Richie Aman delivered a great ball into the box that Brummett buried into the back of the goal. The second goal was in the 59th minute as Brummett made a long and decisive run, which was spotted by midfielder Juan Alvarez. The ball by Alvarez had the perfect pace and accuracy, serving the goal on a silver platter for Brummett as he slotted it past the keeper. On his brace, Brummett said, “It feels great. I have been working all season to finally get more than one goal in a game. I feel like things are starting to gel with our team.” The momentum did not stop there for Ballard FC.
Center back Demian Alvarez got himself in the score sheet in the 65th minute. After a blocked free kick, midfielder Peter Kingston recovered his own shot and fired off another one, only this time, the shot found the fortunate foot of Alvarez, who redirected the ball home.
The lead increased in the 76th minute when FC Olympia put the ball into their own net. Ballard FC’s Cameron Cruz delivered a low and dangerous cross which, to clear the ball, the team put it past their own keeper.
All 11 starters for Ballard FC were stellar on Sunday night. One, in particular, had a profound impact on the game. That player would be Peter Kingston. He was all over the pitch, making the right passes and constantly pushing his team forward. Postgame, he stated, “I felt like I had a lot of confidence in the guys around me. I think for me to play well, all the guys around me also have to play well. I was very confident in their ability.” Coach Riley also noticed the cohesiveness of the collective group. “Great response from the group at home. I thought our play in all phases of the game was very high and I’m very proud of the group.” He then added, “We talked about, first and foremost, dominating your individual duels. Dominating your collective duels and just getting the ball moving using our midfield three to dictate tempo…It was a great collective team win.” With over half of the season in the books, Ballard FC are right where they want to be as they continue to strive towards thoroughly dominating opponents in all areas of the pitch.
Ballard FC are in action again this coming Friday, June 29th at 7:00pm PT as they head east, across Lake Washington, to take on Midlakes United.
Cover Photo: Blake Dahlin / Ballard FC
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