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OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Oly Town Artesians play their last game home of 2018 when they host the Tacoma Stars Reserves on Saturday night. It’s 90’s Night at The Pavilion at The Evergreen State College with games, prizes, 90’s music all night, and more. Tickets are just $8 for adults and $5 for kids 5-12, seniors and military, and free for kids under five. First kick is set for 6:30 PM.

The Artesians (0-3-0) are still looking for their first win of the season after dropping a 14-7 decision to the three-time defending Western Indoor Soccer League champions, Bellingham United, last weekend. US Air Force captain TJ O’Connor leads the club with four goals in his two games played and Timberline High School grad Collin Tate has scored three goals in the two games that he has played. Original Artesian Nate Boatright has two goals and two assists.

Oly has had success over the years against the Stars Reserves, posting a 2-2-1 record since they transitioned from the Stars to the Stars Reserves for the 2015-2016 season. Last season, the Artesians picked up a home win, 7-5, on December 16th behind two goals from Matt Stalnik. It was Oly’s only win of the season and one of only two regular season losses for Tacoma, who went to the WISL championship game before falling to Bellingham.

The Stars Reserves (2-0-0) enter the weekend with two games under their belt, an 8-2 win over the Oly-Pen Force and an 8-1 win over the Snohomish Skyhawks last Saturday. They are giving up a paltry 1.5 goals per game and have earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for each of their two games. Goalkeeper Mike Arguello earned the award in week one while defender Logan Jones earned it for week three. Eddie Na and Tyler John are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.

After this weekend’s game, the Artesians take to the road for four straight games including a December 22nd visit to Bremerton to face the Oly-Pen Force. They finally return home to close out the season with two games, starting with a return visit from the Force on Saturday, January 26th.

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Leon Grinnell

OLYMPIA, Wash. – In the next phase of a strategic growth plan, The Oly Town Artesians announce the appointment of Leon Grinnell as Director of Soccer Operations. Leon will provide strategic leadership and manage daily operations of the men’s indoor and outdoor teams and oversee the community and business development plans for the Artesians. He will begin the position immediately.

Brandon Sparks will continue in his role as General Manager, as will Coach Matt Herrera and Business and Community Development Coordinator Kyle Wiese.

“We are excited to welcome Leon to the Oly Town family,” said Artesians co-owner Tim Smith. “Leon’s background and experience as a player, coach, and club administer will be a valuable asset as the club continues to grow. Leon is a fantastic addition to Oly Town and I look forward to working with him in the upcoming season and over the next several years.”

Leon serves as the Men’s Assistant Soccer Coach at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. He brings more than 25 years’ experience in coaching and professional administration. He has worked with all ages and levels from U12 Select to semi-professional men’s teams in Germany. Leon began his coaching career as Head Soccer Coach for the United States Armed Forces Youth All-Star team in Germany winning the U12 European Championship. As General Manager and Coach of the United States Army Men’s team, he won the European Armed Forces Championship in 2008. Leon has served as Head Coach, Director of Player Personnel and General Manager, both in Germany and here in the United States.

“The Artesians are a unique opportunity with close ties to the Olympia and more specifically Olympia’s soccer communities. Tim and I share a very similar passion for the community and vision for the future of the club,” said Grinnell. “Our immediate focus is on the recently started WISL indoor season. As for the future we are still in the planning stages and hope to unveil details at the beginning of the new year.”

In addition to his coaching experience, Leon has over a decade of experience playing in German amateur divisions. Leon was educated at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and a product of The St. Petersburg Kickers, 1989 US Open Cup Winners, under the tutelage of Steve Gogas and Alex Pringle from the age of 15.

Leon and the Artesians return home on Saturday, December 15th to face the Tacoma Stars Reserves. 90’s night at The Pavilion is set for 6:30 PM. Doors open at 5:45 PM and tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for kids 5-12, seniors and military members and kids under 5 are free. Tickets are available at www.olytownfc.com/tickets.

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Collin Tate | Photo: Charis Wilson

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – TJ O’Connor and Collin Tate each scored twice for the Oly Town Artesians (0-3-0) but three-time defending WISL champion Bellingham United (3-0-0) got five goals from Richard Henderson to double up Oly, 14-7, at the Bellingham Sportplex on Saturday night.

Noe Betancourt Cruz got Bellingham rolling with a goal five minutes into the game. Collin Tate tied it at 1-1 at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter, but it was all United after that. The Hammers went on a 7-1 run for the rest of the half including three straight goals by Richard Henderson to give Bellingham an 8-2 lead at the half. David Cook collected Oly’s other goal, a second quarter flick of a ball into the box that Carl Determeyer directed his direction.

Oly got one back to kick off the second half, a power play goal that make it 8-3. But the Artesians were hit with three blue cards in the third and Bellingham capitalized on two of them and took an 11-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

TJ O’Connor scored both of his goals and Eli Boatright and Determeyer each added goals of their own in the fourth quarter, but Bellingham added three goals of their own to stay undefeated and extend their home winning streak to 23 games with a 14-7 victory.

Bellingham outshot the Artesians 29-9 during the game with Bradley Hanson making 12 saves on 23 shots over three quarters for the Artesians. Luis Magana made his debut for Oly and made three saves on six shots. On the other side, Bellingham keepers – Riley Liddle and Felix Cruz – made just two saves in the game, allowing seven goals on nine shots.

The Artesians return home on Saturday, December 15th to face the Tacoma Stars Reserves. 90’s night at The Pavilion is set for 6:30 PM. Doors open at 5:45 PM and tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for kids 5-12, seniors and military members and kids under 5 are free. Tickets are available at www.olytownfc.com/tickets.

Oly Town Artesians goals: TJ O’Connor (2), Collin Tate (2), David Cook, Eli Boatright, Carl Determeyer
Bellingham United: Richard Henderson (5), Christian Caro (2), Kenny Parker (2), Noe Betancourt Cruz, Rene Caro, Nick Cashmere, Uriel Herrera, Connor Moe