Artesians Home Opener Kicks Off New Era For Oly Town FC

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OLYMPIA, Wash. – Tim Smith, Owner and President of Oly Town Football Club announced today an Agreement in Principle to expand ownership in the club. Oly Town FC is the parent club for the Oly Town Artesians Men’s indoor and outdoor semi-pro soccer teams, Artesians Reserves Men’s outdoor semi-pro team and the Artesians Women’s indoor semi-pro team that is set to begin play in 2020.

Joining Tim and his wife, Connie, in the ownership group are:
Tom and Anna Boatright and Family
Thomas and Meagan Arndt
Chris and Mindi Knudson and Family
Drew and Kylie Phillips and Family

“This means the Artesians are here to stay,” said Smith. “All four of these families have long, strong ties to the local soccer community and to the community as a whole. Connie and I are so thankful to Olympia for supporting the team over the past 6 years, and we could not be more excited about the future. Community-based soccer at this level doesn’t work everywhere, but it has made it here.”

The Artesians were founded in 2014 by Brandon Sparks along with Tim and Connie Smith, owners of Olympia Indoor Soccer. Today, the club competes in the Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) and the Evergreen Premier League (EPLWA) and will join the WISL Women’s League, beginning play in February, 2020.

“I benefited greatly from playing soccer in this area since my youth and I’m excited to be partnering with this group of owners to further promote the sport and provide opportunities for players,” commented Tom Arndt. “We look forward to growing the Oly Town Artesians organization and appreciate the support of local businesses and our strong soccer community.”

In addition, the club announced four new Director positions to guide and support the day-to-day operations of the club:

  • Kyle Wiese, Managing Member of Opportunity Zone Investments and a long-time Artesians player, will serve as Director of Business and Administration.
  • Leon Grinnell brings decades of FC management experience in Germany and the US to the role of Director of Club Development. Leon will also manage Olympia Indoor Soccer.
  • Matt Welling, long-time club coach with Washington Premier FC will serve as Director of Soccer
  • Brandon Sparks continues his role with the club as Director of Communications and Design and providing Play-by-Play for the Artesians Network streaming service.

“This is exactly what I envisioned and hoped for when we founded the club in 2014”, said founder Brandon Sparks. “Tim and I have always wanted to see the community rally around independent, community based soccer and it is exciting to see important people in our community, and people that have been invested in the club in other ways previously, take that next step and make this their club.”

On the field, the Artesians kick off their 2019-2020 slate of home games this Saturday when they take on Tacoma Narrows FC at The Pavilion at The Evergreen State College. First kick is set for 6:35 PM and tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for kids 5-12 years-old, seniors, military and first responders and are available at the door.

Oly Town enters the game with a 1-1-0 record this season after a 9-6 win over the Oly-Pen Force in week one and then a hard fought 8-6 loss to the Snohomish Skyhawks in week two. Capital High School alum Alec Zimmerman leads the team with three goals and four assists through the first two games while his brother, Jordan, is right behind him with a pair of goals. Another Capital grad and veteran Artesian, Nate Boatright, has also added two goals.

JJ Olson has been solid in goal making a plethora of saves over the first two games to lead the team defensively and defender Brett Stallworth is expected to make his 42nd consecutive appearance for Oly Town. New Artesians head coach PJ Vargas has had two weeks since the Snohomish loss to prepare and the squad will see a couple new faces on the field for the home opener.

Narrows enters the game at 0-2-0 after dropping their first two games to the two toughest WISL opponents, Bellingham United and the Tacoma Stars Reserves. They fell 13-4 in Bellingham after unexpectedly losing their top goalkeeper to the Hammers just days before the opener and then scored just one goal against the Stars Reserves in week two. But Narrows holds a 2-0-0 record over the Artesians and made the playoffs last season in their first WISL campaign.