Artesians whip Force, 17-7, during season opener

Oly Town Artesians exploded on a historic seven-goal second quarter and a six-goal fourth quarter performance to get their 2022-23 Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) campaign off to a flying start with a comfortable 17-7 win against Olympic Peninsula Force at the Evergreen State College Pavillion on Sunday night.

In what could be considered the greatest quarter of indoor soccer in Oly Town’s eight-year history in arena soccer, the Artesians put up a masterclass of seven goals from seven different goalscorers in 15 minutes of the second quarter after hanging on to a tight 2-1 lead at the first quarter. Since then, it was a one-sided affair as the Artesians showed no mercy up until the final whistle.

“It was great to see our potential come out in big moments, especially in the second quarter. Our pressing in certain moments and ability to eat the middle and win the ball back was very good. When you win it in the middle versus on the boards the quality of chances are much higher” said Nick Boatright, the Artesians coach who also picked his first-ever WISL win with style.

As impressive as the scoreline shows, only three players from Oly Town registered hat tricks as Kasey Sidor scored in the first, second and fourth quarters, while Jason Fairhurst completed his hat trick before halftime.

Newcomer Yuta Shimazu also pierced through the visiting team’s defense with a hat trick of his own and an assist for a memorable man-of-the-match debut with the club. A total of ten goalscorers of 17 goals were recorded for Oly Town.

"Shimazu's direct nature and running caused them (Force) problems all day," said Coach Boatright.

A shaky start from last year’s semi-finalists saw Oly Town go down a goal behind just three minutes from kick-off as Kaw Gaw opened the scoring for Oly Pen through open play, but thanks to an immediate response with goals from Sidor and Jason Fairhurst from the resolute Oly Town, which relied on their precise passing and retention of possession 

But little do they know that the party is just getting started.

In front of dozens occupying the Olympia crowd in the so-called Ice Box, the floodgates were opened on the second quarter, with Oly Town pressing high from kick-off to force mistakes from the visiting team, which worked like a charm as Sidor, Kevin Vogt, and Fairhurst added to the score sheet to balloon the lead to 5-1 just under two minutes from the start of the second quarter.

It should have been game set and dusted but the Artesians were just ruthless and confident as they continued to exploit the frustrated defense of Oly Pen, with the youngster Shimazu scoring his debut goal for the Artesians later while Colin Ralston added a consolation goal from a free kick set to play for the visitors from Kitsap County to make it 6-2 midway through the quarter.

The Oly Town second quarter masterclass continued as they were relentless in pressing through crumbling Oly Pen plays while being formidable on their own defense, with Fairhurst completing his first half hat trick, while Mitchell Balmer and Sebastian Lyons registered their names on the goal party just before halftime.

Leading 9-2 at halftime, Oly Town relied on their defense to take hold of the lead at the start of the third, thanks to the valiant efforts of goalkeeper Isaiah Damshen, who had 14 saves the whole match. This park-the-bus tactic allowed some chances of Oly Pen to leak through the Artesian defense as they tried to cut the bleeding, before the high press of Oly Town was just enough to retain their command of the game as the scores were at 11-5 before the final quarter, partly thanks to a bizarre restart goal from the halfway line by Collin Tate that caught out the sleeping Oly Pen defense.

The Artesians were still rampaging up until the final quarter as they close out the show with style, as Josh Dube and Manny Nicasio bringing the goals early at the fourth. Shimazu, eager to impress in his debut with Oly Town, added two goals in the fourth for his debut hat trick, while Balmer and Dube recorded their respective second goals to complete the 10-goal rout of Oly Town in their inaugural game.

This vital opening win puts the Oly Town Artesians top of the table, as they were gunning for a WISL Final appearance this year after losing to then-champion Bellingham United in last year’s semifinals. The gaffer also recognized the crucial role of home support on the aim of the Artesians.

"It means a lot to the guys to have the fan support. There is a lot more in store for the Oly Town Artesians. From my perspective, the fans are going to help make a difference in the tight games," said Head Coach Nick Boatright.

Asked about the team’s chances, team owner Ryan Perkins answered, “I can only answer that question after seeing how the team performs on the road, because every other field is 25-30 yards larger than our field, throughout Oregon and Washington.”

Before the game, Oly Town has inducted Kyle Weise, a 6^th Oly Legend, to the Artesian Hall of Fame. Weise played 40 games since the inaugural WISL season in 2014.

Oly Town will host Snohomish County FC for week two of league action at Olympia Indoor on Saturday, November 12, at 6 p.m. kickoff. #