USL2 Signs First Athlete: Desmond Wade

The Artesians announced on March 2nd the signing of Belize national player and Verdes FC pro Desmond Wade. Wade is from the Cayo District in Belize which is on the eastern coast of Central America. Wade is a dangerous forward who has international caps and considerable next level experience with Verdes FC in the Premier League of Belize. At Verdes he has been their top goal scorer in years past.

Desmond also played in a World Cup Qualifier against Turks & Caicos in 2021.

Desmond is the first signing by new USL2 skipper Liviu Bird for the 2023 season. To be ready for more USL2 player announcements follow Oly Town on Instagram and Twitter for live updates. Season Tickets and Pre-Season gear are available to purchase by visiting the Oly Town Online Store by clicking here.

Oly Heads to Everett for Arena Semifinal Showdown

A 7:30PM official game time has been confirmed by WISL (Western Indoor Soccer League) which is the region’s top professional-amateur arena league. The game will be held at the Everett Soccer Arena which is a 1.5 hour drive from the Olympia area. Tickets are available at the door as the #2 Everett City FC takes on your #3 Oly Town Artesians.

“I believe folks will see a team that is hungry and has a chip on its shoulder” said Head Arena Coach Nick Boatright. “Ultimately from a coaches perspective I hope we see a team prepared for the specific challenges that Everett provides and that the Everett Sports Arena provides.”

Oly Town for the first time all year went into 3rd place with a final regular season loss to the Tacoma Stars 5-3 at the Tacoma Soccer Center. Oly Town looks for redemption as their first loss of the year was at Everett in a 6-8 match back in December. Oly Town ended the year with the best Arena Record in club history 8-2-2 helmed by Nick Boatright and veterans Josh Dube, Nate Boatright and Matt Stalnik (All Oly Legends). For more information on the roster and this year stats visit the Arena Soccer Page here.

USL W Signs String of D-1 Athletes

Artesian Head Coach Chris Wells and Coach Rachel Ross have been busy building the first ever USL Women’s Soccer team in Washington State History. Most recently Oly Town signed a local from Allyn, WA Sophia Green who played youth soccer at Crossfire Premier and ended up playing at Division One University of Nebraska-Omaha where she’s seen the field in 50 matches and scored 14 goals.

Other 2023 signings: Neeku Purcell (GK, UCLA), Hayden Crowley (Fwd, Univ of WA), Kelsey Kwon (Mid, Northwestern), Katie O’Kane (Fwd, U of Utah) and Alex Schoenstadt (Midfield, U of Utah). Make sure and follow @olytownfc on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for live player signings.

Women interested in trying out are encouraged to register for the March 19th W League Trial held in Olympia, WA. Click here for registration information.

The Artesians Host Spring Kid’s Camp

Youth Camp Director Jason Smith and Artesian players are excited to announce their final indoor soccer camp of the year. March 11, 18 and 25 for ages 5-14 are available for local families to experience drills, fun soccer activities and most of all playing! The Artesians host this camp at the Evergreen State College Pavilion where they will experience an Oly Town Arena Soccer setting and get to mingle with select players and staff.

Registration is $100 meanwhile financial aid is available through the Oly Soccer Foundation for families experiencing financial hardship.

Click here to register and get ready for another OLY OLY OLY Kid’s Camp!

Oly Town Looking for new Sponsorships

2023 has brought unique challenges to the club including sponsors who can no longer support the club but opens the door to new organizations. Oly Town’s leadership has been looking for ways to provide travel vans for road trips to Eugene, Bellingham, Everett, Salem and Portland for both their USL squads and Arena teams.

The club is currently offering multiple sponsor packages including:

Title Field/Stadium Sponsor (Have your business be on all game day programming, field signage, schedules and broadcast)

Warmup Jackets/Pants (Have your business on all the athletes jackets, pants and travel gear)

Travel Van (Have your business be on the magnets that will surround the van for all away games and social media posts for away games)

Awards & Events (Have your business be the title sponsor for Awards dinners, Auction Fundraisers and promo release parties)

Game Day Banners (Oly’s least expensive sponsorship is game day banners, be a part of the match and not break the bank!)

Donations (Our non-profit, Oly Soccer Foundation provides scholarships for camps, tryouts and free ticketing for youth into all games!)

Visit our partners page and our social media to see how we incorporate businesses in our sports marketing department to provide ROI to local organizations. Oly Town does not exist without generous regional businesses. Bringing USL soccer to Thurston County would not exist without title partners such as Dancing Goats Coffee, Well 80 Brewhouse, FORMA Construction, Olympia Jeep, Olympia Hotel and Van Dorm Realty.

Oly Town Asks for Host Families

The USL Soccer franchise opportunity is nationwide and League Two and the W League provide the community the chance to see top college players, transitioning pros and elite academy players before they go pro. Most that compete are college level athletes that are looking for a path to professional soccer as they do not break their amateur status in USL2 or W League to stay at the college level and get their degrees while playing collegiate soccer

That means many athletes need rooms! May-July 2023 and Oly Town needs your help! If you have an extra room, or extra dwelling our top athletes would like the chance to stay there temporarily. Each family or home owner is assigned an Oly Town manager and background checks can be provided. Season Tickets, Local Restaurant Gift Cards and discounts on apparel can be benefits to those hosting. Click here for becoming a Host Family!

For more information on anything Oly Town or the Oly Soccer Foundation contact playnow@olytownfc.com

_{*Cover Photo by Austin DeWees at RAPT Visuals}

February 26, 2023

*Cover Photo: Brad Hanson

TACOMA, WA – The Oly Town Artesians wrapped up the regular season Saturday with a close battle against undefeated Major Arena Soccer League second team the Tacoma Stars Reserves. The 3-5 loss sends the #3 seeded Artesians to #2 Everett City FC for a Western Indoor Soccer League Semifinal showdown in Everett next Saturday, March 4th. The two teams split their regular season meetings with the Artesians losing on the road back in December 6-8 but claiming victory at home in Olympia 13-6.

In last nights final regular season match the Artesians recorded two goals from Jason Fairhurst and one from Kasey Sidor. The first period ended in a 0-0 draw with both goalkeepers and defenses keeping their opponents at bay. Shortly into the second period a Tacoma power play goal put the momentum with the Stars. Oly Town would go down 3-0 in the second half but rapid fire goals from Fairhurst and Sidor seemed to spark a resurgence making it 3-2 in the 3rd Period all in a matter of seconds at the six minute mark.

Matt Stalnik made a whopping 29 saves in the offensive melee provided by Tacoma. Stalnik was able to hold off the undefeated Stars in several one on one situations and kept the Artesians alive in the 3-5 loss. The Stars were held to only 5 goals in both meetings, a far cry from their 8 goal average in WISL play. Deflection goals which are a goalkeepers worst nightmare were also on the Stars side of luck on the night.

The OIy Town faithful had a large away game crowd with many making the 30 minute drive to the Tacoma Soccer Center where the crowd noise for the Artesians outweighed the PA system for the Tacoma Stars. The crowd had loud “Oly Oly Oly” chants as well as some fun “Beat Tacoma!” buttons.

Head Coach Nick Boatright caps off the best Arena season in club history with a record winning percentage of 8 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws. Boatright also fielded the first ever undefeated home team in Artesian history. The first year head coach saw his players set numerous club records with Josh Dube at 58 career appearances, 19 single season goals by Jason Fairhurst including the single match record racking up 6 goals against Everett in January.

“I feel thankful” said Head Coach Nick Boatright. “Thankful for the support that I have gotten from fans, ownership and of course the players who are very talented, but more importantly committed to learning and doing what it takes to be a good team.”

Oly Town Artesians announce veteran defender Josh Dube to be inducted into Oly Hall of Legends

Josh Dube played across 7 years for the Oly Town Artesians in Arena soccer starting out in 2016. Dube has been a pivotal defensive player through the years and is active in the soccer community with youth soccer at Tumwater Soccer Club and also helped pioneer the Artesians through transitioning years with covid shutdown, multiple coaching staffs and ownership changes. Josh also served as a coach within the organization and frequently volunteered for community events and even officiating community coed leagues for Olympia Indoor Soccer. Josh Dube is moving out of state this year so it is also a bittersweet announcement. Stay tuned for the Oly Legends Induction date. Fans are encouraged to make the trek to Everett March 4th to watch Oly Legend Josh Dube in his final matches with the club.

“Josh has been a consistent leader for the Artesians going back to 2016” said Owner Ryan Perkins. “He never needs to shout to get peoples attention as his work rate and dependability makes him a natural captain. Josh embodies so many qualities that we envision for Oly Town players including raising up youth soccer, always lending a helping hand and being a big brother to young college athletes.”

A look back at the season and the history of the Artesians in the Western Indoor Soccer League.

Oly Town Men’s Arena History

2014-15: 3-5-0 | 4th Place | 54 Goals For | 69 Goals Against | -15 Goal Differential *Head Coach Nate Salveson

2015-16: 2-7-1 | 6th Place | 54 Goals For | 74 Goals Against | -24 Goal Differential *Player/Coach Matt Stalnik

2016-17: 4-5-1 | 3rd Place | 67 Goals For | 78 Goals Against | -11 Goal Differential *Head Coach Ray Finn

2017-18: 1-7-0 | 5th Place | 43 Goals For | 77 Goals Against | -34 Goal Differential *Head Coach Matt Herrera

2018-19: 0-9-1 | 6th Place | 44 Goals For | 102 Goals Against | -58 Goal Differential *Head Coach Matt Herrera

2019-20: 3-5-2 | 4th Place | 55 Goals For | 59 Goals Against | -4 Goal Differential *Head Coach PJ Vargas

2021-22: 5-5-0 | 3rd Place | 62 Goals For | 72 Goals Against | -12 Goal Differential *Head Coach Nate Boatright

2022-23: 8-2-2 | 3rd Place | 107 Goals For | 60 Goals Against | +47 Goal Differential *Nick Boatright

Oly Town’s Regular Season Recap

Nov. 5 2022: Oly Town 17 Olympic Force 7

Nov. 12 2022: Oly Town 7 Snohomish 4

Nov. 19 2022: Oly Town 0 Portland 4

Dec. 3 2022: Oly Town 6 Everett 8

Dec. 10 2022: Oly Town 6 Bellingham 6

Dec. 17 2022: Oly Town 11 Olympic Force 5

Jan. 7 2023: Oly Town 13 Bellevue 3 ^_*friendly

Jan. 14 2023: Oly Town 17 Portland 6

Jan. 21 2023: Oly Town 13 Everett 6

Jan. 28 2023: Oly Town 8 Snohomish 2

Feb. 4 2023: Oly Town 5 Tacoma 5

Feb. 11 2023: Oly Town 5 Bellingham 2

Feb. 25 2023: Oly Town 3 Tacoma 5

March 4: Oly Town @ Everett *semifinal

*BOLD HOME

February 24, 2023

TACOMA, WA – The Oly Town Artesians are currently in second place in Western Indoor Soccer League competition behind the Tacoma Stars. They head to the Tacoma Soccer Center on Saturday February 25th for a 7PM kickoff to attempt to clinch the clubs first ever semifinal home field advantage since the clubs founding in 2014. The semifinal match would be held March 4th at the pavilion a Evergreen State College if the Artesians attain points from the match result.

The club announced a special fan convoy to cheer on the men to meet at the Martin Way Park and Ride near the Regal Martin Movie Theater at 6PM. Convoy leaves immediately to make the 25 minute drive to the Tacoma Soccer Center. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets early. Parking has also been known to be difficult so please plan to carpool.

Tickets to the match can be found by clicking here.

Tacoma Soccer Center location address click here.

Oly Town releases it’s game day roster for Saturday’s match:

Standings updated February 23, 2023:

2022-2023 Statistics

(Men’s WISL regular season)

Goals:

• 17 – Jason Fairhurst
• 14 – Manny Nicasio
• 14 – Kasey Sidor
• 7 – Yuta Shimazu
• 8 – Alex Vogt
• 6 – Mitchell Balmer
• 6 – Asa Moncivias
• 5 – Alec Zimmerman
• 5 – Nate Boatright
• 4 – Collin Tate
• 3 – Joe Sammartino
• 2 – Rainier Schlekewey
• 2 – Josh Dube
• 2 – Sebastian Lyons
• 2 – Brice Holiday
• 1 – TR Jewett
• 1 – Brett Stallworth
• 1 – Jesus Flores
• 1 – Collin LaBranche
• 1 – Jordan Zimmerman
• 1 – Sam Tafolla

Assists:

• 13 – Nate Boatright
• 11 – Jason Fairhurst
• 6 – Manny Nicasio
• 6 – Alex Vogt
• 5 – Kasey Sidor
• 2 – Marcos Borja
• 2 – Collin Tate
• 2 – Alec Zimmerman
• 2 – Sam Tafolla
• 1 – Yuta Shimazu
• 1 – Sebastian Lyons
• 1 – Mitchell Balmer
• 1 – Brett Stallworth
• 1 – Jordan Zimmerman
• 1 – Schlekewey
• 1 – Joe Sammartino

Goalkeeper stats:

Isaiah Damschen: 6 Apps (5 Starts) – 330 min | GA: 24 | Record: 4-1-1 | WISL POTW Week 4
Matt Stalnik: 6 Apps (6 Starts) – 330 min | GA: 31 | Record: 4-1-1 | WISL POTW Week 2