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OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Oly Town Artesians will kick off their fifth season in the Western Indoor Soccer League with open tryouts on Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th. Matt Herrera returns for his second season at the helm of the arena Artesians and will preside over the trials. Tryouts on both days are set for 10:00 AM at The Pavilion at The Evergreen State College. The cost is $25 and players are encouraged to register early at www.olytownfc.com/tryouts.

The Artesians were founded in 2014 in advance of the WISL’s inaugural season and will play in their fifth season of indoor soccer. The team has given 76 different local players an opportunity to play elite indoor soccer over the past four seasons including all-time leading goal scorer and Evergreen State College alum Willie Spurr (Lane United – PDL) and Olympia High School’s Evan Munn (Oregon State University). Oly Town has featured players from numerous local high schools, collegiate players from Evergreen, Saint Martin’s and SPSCC, and local players that have played at a high level around the state and country.

Oly’s home field is The Pavilion at The Evergreen State College, a unique campus facility that received a $1 million renovation over the summer that included a new roof, new siding and interior improvements that will make the building much more inviting for players and fans. The field is the smallest field in the WISL but features the best site lines and the best atmosphere in the league and the Artesians are dedicated to putting on the best show in the WISL this season.

The WISL’s fifth season schedule will be released in October with the annual pre-season tournament kicking off festivities on the last weekend of October or the first week of November. The league’s regular season lasts from mid-November to February capped off by the playoffs and the title game.

Bellingham United is the three-time reigning champion of the WISL. The Tacoma Stars won the league’s inaugural title in 2015 before transitioning to the Major Arena Soccer League. The Tacoma Stars Reserves now compete in the WISL along with the Artesians, Bellingham, the Snohomish Skyhawks and the Olympic (Bremerton) Force.

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Daniel Gonzalez | Photo: Quinn Width

PUYALLUP, Wash. – Daniel Gonzalez put the Oly Town Artesians up 1-0 early in a must win game against Washington Premier on Sunday afternoon, but WPFC rattled off four unanswered goals to knock the Artesians out of the playoff hunt and clinch the best record in the Evergreen Premier League’s regular season.

Needing to win out and get a little help from Spokane next week, the Artesians got off to a hot start against the team with the best record in the EPLWA. Daniel Gonzalez caught WPFC keeper Mike Arguello by surprise and popped one from distance over the top to put Oly up 1-0 in the 15th minute. It was Gonzalez’s fourth goal in four games played for the Artesians this season.

But Brandon Madsen tied it up 15 minutes later when he found a little bit of space and fired one past Oly goalkeeper Bradley Hanson, who made his second straight start in place of the injured JJ Olson. Hanson made a couple of fantastic saves over the next ten minutes, but a free kick by Edwin Brown beat him low in the 40th minute to give WPFC a 2-1 lead.

Washington Premier added two more goals in the second half, the first by Kodai Lida in the 54th minute, and Madsen’s second of the game and tenth of the season in the 80th minute, and held off the Artesians to take the 4-1 victory. The win moved them to 8-1-0 and they clinched the Cascade Division title. They also clinched the #1 seed in the first EPLWA playoffs beginning on July 21st.

The loss dropped the Artesians to 4-3-2 and they were eliminated from the playoff hunt in just their second season in the EPLWA. They will look to win their fifth game in their season finale on Sunday, July 15th at the Harmony Sports Complex.