The Oly Town FC Women brought a fairy tale run with memorable moments that made them rule the whole of the Northwest in their maiden season in the USL. But in the end, they just fell short against the much-seasoned team, the California Storm SC.
A thunderous header from defender Katie Smith coming from a set piece is enough for the Sacramento-based soccer club to knock the Artesians out of the playoffs, with Oly Town drizzling out a 1-0 defeat to end their debut USL W League campaign last Friday evening in front of a packed Davis Legacy Field in San Francisco.
Despite bowing out of the league in the West Coast Semifinal, the Artesian Women will take the positives on this experience, with Chris Wells’ squad bringing the club to its first-ever USL postseason in all its programs after one try, and with this first-ever defeat definitely not punctuating the progress of the club in the women’s game after a hard-fought battle miles away from home at the Bay Area.
With the USL W Team of the Month for June awardee Mariah Lee leading the front, Oly Town kicked off at high octane as they tried to press high from the opening kick and deliver the ball to their half while giving minimal chances for the home side to capitalize on lost possessions, as the Artesians showed why they were the top dogs of the Northwest.
Though a reality check for the Artesians was felt early on as the opposition virtually said this is not the Northwest anymore, as they were poised with the Oly Town press while giving them a hard time with the ball, giving Oly Town tight passing spaces as both teams with similar styles of play battle out a very even opener.
The best chance of the half came in the 36th minute as a Hannah Luke lob met Gianna Riley but her header just goes wide and seemed to freeze Oly Town goalkeeper Kat Asman but lucky for her to pick the ball for a goal kick. With its close contested duels, the half ends scoreless for both teams.
With the second half underway, it was the same for both sides as both punished the other side’s mistakes but just could not capitalize on the final third. That is until the dagger goal in the 63rd that made it 1-0 to CalStorm – a deflected header where Katie Smith outjumped her defender while receiving the ball from a Hannah Luke corner set piece.
With one goal down, the mighty Artesians came swinging immediately in the hunt for an equalizer, coming from a huge chance from McKenna Martinez in the 65th just above the crossbar, followed up by another chance from this season’s top scorer for Oly Town in the 68th from a corner, but this time the ball goes just wide from the near post.
Sensing the momentum shift, the hosts tried to get hold of the possession which quickly led to a big chance from Janae Gonzales which needed a cat-like save from Oly Town’s Kat Asman, while the rebound was ballooned out, which held the lead by just one at 71 minutes in.
Despite the closing salvo nearing, Oly Town FC never held their guard down and continued to press for the equalizer, with the biggest chance of the visitors coming from an 80th minute chance that needed the hands of CalStorm goalkeeper Abbie Faingold, before the final whistle was blown to confirm the end of Oly Town women’s football season.
Oly Town’s first loss caps off a remarkable first year in the USL W League after beating each team in the Northwest division including playing wild card bubble team United PDX three times and finishing with one win and two draws against them, with this feat making it just enough to make it to the final 16 best pre-professional women’s soccer teams in the nation.
Headed by Coach Jamie Levoy, the California Storm clinched their playoff spot after finishing third out of eight teams in a tightly contested NorCal Division, capping the regular season with 28 points from a 9-1-2 win-draw-loss record, just below division winners San Francisco Glens SC and runner-up Oakland Soul SC, with the latter teams to also battle out at the opposite bracket.
Our Sacramento-based opponents boasts a rich history in the women’s game since their foundation in 1995 and was the childhood club of modern U.S. soccer legends Alex Morgan and Brandi Chastain, with the latter being a current member of the club’s board of directors. They have won a national record of four Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) titles, with the most recent being in 2022.
Despite their rich history, the 2023 season, like Oly Town’s, is also their inaugural season in the rebranded USL W League as an expansion team in the Bay Area, and their experience in the WPSL has brought them to new heights in women’s soccer after qualifying for the playoffs.
This gap in experience and history poses a challenge to head coach Chris Wells and his 32-woman Artesians roster as they make history come Friday night, with the fearless Oly Town FC facing the biggest competitive test of the club with grit and confidence banking from their undefeated campaign in the Northwest.
The Oly Town Artesians, founded in 2014, has only put a women’s program in soccer in 2021 and despite its recency, the women have competed in the NorthWest Premier League (NWPL) since. Their biggest achievement before this season is winning the 2022 NWPL trophy after a thrilling penalty shootout victory against CFC Atletica in the final last year.
To see more about Oly Town’s playoffs, click here.
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