OLYMPIA, WA – USL club Oly Town FC announced Wednesday a partnership with pro soccer club USL Spokane to create a pipeline to professional soccer in the USL Super League. The two USL clubs jointly posted Wednesday that they will co-host a USL Super League and USL W League tryout in Olympia, Washington this March to evaluate talent from around the world.
Should athletes perform well enough at the tryout it could land them a professional soccer contract in the USL Super League. Oly Town competes in the USL W League which is a summer competitive league dominated by the nations top collegiate athletes looking to keep fit in the college offseason and scouted for future pro contracts. A bridge that has now been gapped by a formal partnership between the two Washington state USL soccer clubs.
The USL Super League announced in 2023 the move to United States Soccer Federations professional top of pyramid promotion running parallel to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Women from around the world can become professional soccer players through USL Spokane and Oly Town by trying out March 30 and 31st in Olympia, Washington.
“We’re thrilled by the opportunity to create a pro pipeline for local players and those that will come to Olympia from around the world to tryout” said Oly Town principal owner Ryan Perkins. ”We were undefeated in the USL W in 2023 and had pro-caliber players and now there’s a direct path with Spokane Zephyr in the Super League.”
Last fall Oly Town staff attended Spokane’s USL League One 
Tryout in Seattle with Ballard FC. Oly’s USL League Two 
and Spokane’s USL League One joint efforts helped fuel leadership talks of developing a pro pipeline between the two clubs.
The OL Reign (NWSL) and Portland Thorns (NWSL) are joined by Spokane Zephyr (USL) as the only pacific northwest women’s professional outdoor soccer clubs. Spokane spent the last two years developing a USL soccer stadium with the City of Spokane and school district where USL Super League and USL League One will play its professional soccer games.
USL announced television deals for its pro soccer divisions with CBS Sports, Paramount + and CBS Golazo to elevate the game to the masses. “This partnership is a clear indication of the USL’s growth and impact on domestic soccer, providing us with more national TV exposure and platforms to tell stories about our players, clubs, and fans than ever before” said USL CEO Alec Papadakis.
The expansion of USL W League westward was announced in September 2022 with (4) Oregon-based Clubs and Oly Town (Washington). NCAA All-American Kailey Utley who played division one soccer at West Virginia helped Oly Town make the initial USL W announcement, “I think Oly Town is paving the way for women’s soccer in Washington state” said Utley. ”To have opportunities for young women to play soccer at high level soccer beyond the college game is just amazing and excited to see where this program is going.”
“This partnership is the first step in helping our players get connected to professional level USL opportunities. That first step of being recognized is often times the hardest for players. This partnership will hopefully make that process easier.”
-Oly Town Part Owner & Director of Soccer Jason Smith
Oly Town’s 2023 USL W league roster had multiple players offered professional soccer contracts including Mariah Lee who signed with top Australian pro soccer club Adelaide United. Lee was a national champion at Stanford and played for the OL reign among other pro clubs.
Lee came home to play for Oly Town in the USL W League in 2023 scoring 7 goals and used her highlights and performance films to send to Adelaide United to get signed a pro contract just months after concluding her season in Olympia.
“The USL W (Oly Town) was great because I hadn’t played in an actual game since the previous October with the OL Reign” said pro player Mariah Lee. ”It was nice to get back playing, get back into stride of scoring goals. I think a big part of Adelaide United’s willingness to sign me so quickly was that I was coming off a big season with Oly Town, so there was no question of “Does she still got it?”
“It’s exciting to see new and enhanced opportunities for players to continue pursuing their soccer careers during and after they complete their collegiate careers” said Head Evergreen State College Coach Steve Schmidt. ”Our local soccer community has always had a strong soccer culture and tradition of players moving up through the professional soccer landscape. This move will continue to build on that tradition and provide a streamlined pathway.”
Oly Town will have their technical staff on-hand at the March 2024 joint tryout including recently promoted Sporting Director, Chris Wells and new USL W Head Coach, Ben Willis. Willis played goalkeeper in USL Championship with Rio Grande Valley FC and coaches at Washington State-based Reign FC Academy. ”Athletes attending the tryout can expect a professional environment, with a chance to play in front of pro coaches” said Oly Town Head Coach Ben Willis. “The level will be high, and it’ll be an awesome chance to experience what being a pro is like.”
Chris Wells coached the USL W Oly Town team in 2023 to an undefeated #1 seed clinching the clubs first ever USL national playoff. Well brings a plethora of experience from his days on the Reign FC coaching staff, DI Seattle University and his most recent USL W League season
“Chris Wells set an extremely high bar as head coach of our USL W inaugural season” said USL W General Manager Vanessa Crisp. ”His ability to cultivate winning rosters through changing player availability throughout the season was impressive.” Sporting Director Chris Wells works with both USL League Two and USL W League operations for Oly Town’s performance initiatives.
Tryout applications can be found online on both Spokane Zephyr and Oly Town’s websites. The tryout fee is $65 and athletes should plan for a two-day trial to find the best and brightest athletes from around the world.
For more information on the USL W League, USL Super League, Spokane Zephyr and Oly Town please click the links below.
USL Spokane | USL Super League | USL Oly Town | USL W League
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