Oly Town FC 2 United PDX 2
The USL W Artesians tied USL newcomer United PDX in front of a packed house at South Sound Stadium. 309 folks entered the stadium gates to enjoy a USL women’s game chalk full of amazing college talent. United PDX came to Olympia with a 1-0-0 record after a resounding 10-1 victory over it’s crosstown rival PDX FC in week one.
The teams would have a 0-0 defensive stalemate in the first half as a number of opportunities for Oly Town were thwarted by amazing saves including an Ava Uribe 18 yard, knuckling shot that glanced the right post. New to the Artesian defense were sisters Smith Hunter and August Hunter who both play at Harvard and considered some of the top female defenders in the country.
Shu Ohba got the start in goal while Kat Asman from Penn State came in for the second half. The goalscoring began with Sydney Stephens in the 55th minute for Oly Town but United PDX would add two goals shortly after from Taylor Krueger and Elle Unflat.
Oly Town would squeeze in a goal in the 81st minute with a decisive finish from Alexis Washington. The tie brings Oly Town to 7 points earned on the year across 3 games and United PDX to 4 points in two matches.
“They (United PDX) have great players and a very experienced coaching staff that makes them a special side” said USL Women’s Coach Chris Wells. “Although we wanted to win, our players gained valuable development by having the opportunity to play in that game.”
The Artesian women have a rematch set with United PDX as they travel to Portland on Thursday. Oly Town returns home Sunday for a 1PM kickoff against CFC Atletica. The last time Atletica and the Artesians met was June 2022 in the Northwest Premier League Championship in Salem, OR. Oly Town would win the Cup in a shootout bringing home the clubs first ever league title since its founding in 2014.
“CFC Atletica has done things the right way for a long time now” said Wells. “From their time in the WPSL, NWPL and now to USL W League, Whitney Pitalo and her organization have the respect of a lot of people in this region. We are expecting a very competitive game.”
Photo Gallery below by Courtney Hickman and C-Sharp Images. You can catch him and Nate Burgher Photography at all our home games this season. Make sure and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
The article header photo by Hickman is of Blackhills FC youth girls soccer players with the Oly Town USL W League squad postgame. An entire 18-player roster of division one athletes including United States Youth National Team players and All-Americans inspiring the next generation of female athletes.
5.27.23 Gallery: USL Women’s Match
The 2-2 draw last Saturday between Oly Town FC and United PDX was caught in the lens of Courtney Hickman of C-Sharp Images.…
USL W LEAGUE NW STANDINGS
Oly Town FC 6 United PDX 5
It was a goal scoring frenzy in Portland last Friday night as the Artesians made their first road trip of the USL League Two season. The Artesians got off to a hot start with a goal by Gil De La Luz in the 7th minute followed by a 60 second turnaround goal by Oly Town’s Richy Lapointe-Guerrera. With his 15th appearance in USL2 action for the Artesians, Jason Fairhurst tallied another goal off a corner from Allen Escalante to make it 3-0.
The Artesian defense would then allow 4 unanswered goals to United PDX between the 36th and 67th minute of the match. Oly Town saw Charlie Lanphier in for the entire 90 minutes but the defense on its heels for 35 minutes straight as the Artesians went down 4-3.
Gil De La Luz would connect on a penalty kick to even the match at 4-4 after a string of yellow and red cards closed out the game. Oly Town’s Allen Escalante was sent off the field with two yellow cards accumulated for unsporting behavior while United PDX’s Quinn Farrell was sent off as well for accumulation. The melee would end 6-5 and an Artesian victory when Trevor Thompson scored the 11th goal of the match in the 85th minute.
“The game certainly was entertaining from an outside perspective” said USL2 Artesian Coach Liviu Bird. “We were happy to end up with the win and with the type of character we showed to come from behind twice and continue the attack and score goals while down to 10 men.”
Gil De La Luz set a new Oly Town USL League Two single match goal record with 3. De La Luz is in his second year with the Artesians and certainly making an impact in game three of the 2023 season.
“Gil’s performance this season have been great so far and a testament to the work that he’s put in over the last couple of years to get himself to a higher level” said Bird. It’s been fun to watch him progress from a promising young player into one who, in my opinion, is professional level.”
The second place Artesians will have to face United PDX again as they come to Olympia this Sunday June 4th for a 4PM kick. Tickets are available online at olytownfc.com and a livestream will be provided as well for those out of town.
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