LACEY, WA – The FC Olympia women’s soccer franchise in the USL clinched the 2024 national playoff last Friday against the Tacoma Stars women’s team. The 2-0 win was in front of a boisterous, record crowd of 467 people in South Sound stadium in Lacey, Washington. The largest crowd that the Artesians have fielded in their 3 years of USL soccer.
Maia Tabion (Columbia University) would get the Artesians on the board in the second half with a well placed 20 yard strike that curled and traveled just out of the Tacoma goalkeepers reach. Olympia would add another goal late in the second half from Bailey Gourdine (UNC-Greensboro). Murphy Sheaff (Kansas State University) played all 90 minutes in goal as the only listed goalkeeper on the June 28 stat sheet for Olympia and saved the shutout in the 90th minute with a crucial penalty kick save.
The Artesians officially win the USL W League Northwest Division Title and clinch the national playoff where the Northwest, Mountain and NorCal divisions meet to begin national tournament play in the Bay Area on July 5th. The women do have one final match Sunday June 30 against second placed United PDX but the results do not matter much as the Artesians are slated to be the #1 seed into the playoff in a few short days.
FC Olympia released in April 2024 the new “Afterglow” kit which pays homage to primarily USL night matches with pink sunsets and made an all pink jersey, short and sock kit. Pink jerseys and shirts were available for families for “Afterglow” night for the USL W Leagues final home match of 2024.
The next and final “Afterglow” night is for the USL men on July 14 which will also feature the foam cannon and inflatable obstacle course.
Tickets at fcoly.com for that July 14 match
Stay tuned for USL W playoff info, rosters and travel information to root on your Artesians as they travel to California to represent Olympia, WA on the national stage.
FC Olympia 2 Capital FC 1 | USL League Two
The Artesian men traveled to Salem, Oregon to battle last place Capital FC since beating them 2-0 at home in mid-June. Lennard Fock (Seattle University) would get his second Van Dorm Realty player of the game award after netting a game winner in the 90th minute and also having an assist on the first goal.
Jackson Ozburn (Santa Clara University) got the starting nod by head coach Jason Dunn at goalkeeper and was dominant in the back on Friday. The win gets FC Olympia back in the middle of the pack which has seen significant changes since #1 Tacoma Stars lost 3 matches and United PDX winning 4 to get to second placed behind Ballard FC.
Fock leads the USL League Two Olympia franchise with 5 goals.
The Artesians play United PDX in Portland on Tuesday July 2nd in a critical match that could see FC Olympia jettison to the Top 4 should they come away with 3 points.
Photo Gallery | C-Sharp Images
1-1 draw for the USL Men versus Junction FC on June 26, 2024. Sounders Legend Night with Tom Dutra, Peter Hattrup, James Dunn and Jason Dunn.
Follow Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for live updates. Tickets for remaining USL League Two matches are at fcoly.com.
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