Head coach Jason Dunn aims to further strengthen his FC Olympia men’s side in preparation for the upcoming USL League Two (USL2) season after the addition of another Seattle Sounders legend Peter Hattrup as assistant coach, the club announced through their website last Friday.
Hattrup is a Seattle, WA native who started his soccer in Seattle Prep and his college playing days at Seattle Pacific University (SPU) and had developed a working relationship and friendship with Dunn as they became part of the attacking front of the Seattle Sounders in the mid-90s.
From their striking partnership with the Sounders, Dunn teams up again with Hattrup but this time from the coaching bench to reinforce the Artesians this season.
“I am humbled today to see such an amazing group of coaches come together to influence these USL recruits at FC Olympia,” said FC Olympia owner Ryan Perkins on the announcement. “I remember my youth soccer coach Scott Nelson encouraging me to go to Sounders games in the 90’s and happen to witness Dunn and Hattrup win matches at Memorial Stadium with my dad. Full circle today for me.”
Hattrup will bring his coaching resume in FC Olympia having managerial experience as a former assistant coach in the Seattle Sounders Women and had coached various youth boys' and girls' teams in the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club under the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association (LWYSA).
“I’m really looking forward to working with talented young players [in FC Olympia], especially giving them the tools and guidance to try to follow their dreams,” said Hattrup about coaching in the USL.
Hattrup was a scoring sensation in his college days with the SPU Falcons, with his peak arguably being in the 1985 season where he scored 26 goals and had 16 assists en route to an NCAA DII championship trophy.
The 26 goals and 16 assists in 1985 will stand as a school record for most goals scored and assists made in a year, up until the 1993 season when it was broken by none other than Jason Dunn with 28 goals and 19 assists for the Falcons.
The two goal machines later teamed up for the Seattle Sounders in the 1994 and 1995 seasons of the now-defunct American Professional Soccer League (APSL) A-league (which is the predecessor of the current United Soccer League), where they won the club’s first league championship in 1995 and Hattrup won the league MVP at the same season with 11 goals and 8 assists.
Almost 30 years since their successful partnership with the Sounders, they will attempt to turn back time and provide a coaching partnership for the Artesians this USL2 season.
“I believe that having Peter on our staff will help enhance the experience these young players will have in learning the professional game and understanding the grind they will endure over the course of their career,” said Jason Dunn on the reinforcement of Hattrup in the Artesian coaching staff.
FC Olympia comes into the 2024 USL League Two season placing in the top 16 in the nation in 2023. The Artesians were the only team in 2023 to beat the eventual USL2 National Champions, Ballard FC, during the regular season and has also knocked out undefeated Park City Red Wolves in the opening round of the 2023 USL2 Playoffs.
The Artesians’ first game of the 2024 USL2 season would be away at Tacoma against expansion team Tacoma Stars FC at the Bellarmine Memorial Field on May 24, while they will debut at home in the South Sound Stadium two days later, on May 26, to face against Lane United FC.
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