Ballard FC finished the regular season on a high with a 8-1 win to gain some momentum going into the postseason.
Interbay Stadium was packed once again and the crowd was electric all night, cheering just as loud for the eighth goal as they did for the opener. Sunday’s match theme was fan appreciation and the fans showed once again why they’re so valuable to the club.
The match got off to a quick start as Ballard FC forced PDX goalkeeper Austin Rogers into multiple diving stops early and would eventually open the scoring in the 14th minute.
Charlie Gaffney threaded a pass through the PDX backline to put Cameron Martin in on goal and he finished calmly.
Ballard FC kept pushing and were not satisfied after the first. They would grab a second just minutes later. A Nik Reierson cross found the left foot of captain Lesia Thetsane who volleyed home his first goal of the season in the 21st minute.
PDX kept fighting and the visitors would get a goal back in the 26th minute. A PDX shot deflected off a couple players and eventually found the net with Moises Diaz getting the final touch to cut the lead in half.
It looked like Ballard FC would go into the break with just a one goal advantage, but for the fourth match in a row Ballard found a goal right before halftime. A Declan McGlynn cross was finished first time on the volley by Cameron Martin to reestablish the two goal lead in the 45th minute.
After Martin’s goal, the two teams went into halftime with Ballard FC leading 3-1.
At halftime, three special fans were honored and afterwards they threw out both Ballard FC and Reuben’s Brews shirts into the crowd. The fans have been so special all season long and having the chance to host a match dedicated to them was the icing on top of what was a phenomenal regular season.
After the halftime festivities, Ballard FC came out in the second half and continued to dominate.
In the 57th minute, Ballard FC got their fourth. It was both the first goal from a corner for Ballard and also Christian Engmann’s first goal of the season as he headed home Peter Kingston’s cross.
Only six minutes later Peter Kingston would grab another assist, slotting in Charlie Gaffney for Ballard’s fifth in the 63rd minute.
After assisting two goals, Peter Kingston decided it was finally his time to get his name on the scoresheet. He got goal number six in the 76th minute by blowing by his defender and fired home his first league goal of the season.
Three minutes later, the hat-trick would finally come for Cameron Martin as he pounced quickly, finishing a rebound after Taketo Onodera’s shot was saved in the 79th minute.
Martin’s goal put Ballard FC up 7-1 and made him the first player to score a hat-trick in Ballard’s history.
Speaking of hat-tricks, Ballard FC weren’t quite done scoring. Peter Kingston grabbed a hat-trick of assists as his cross found the head of Christian Engmann once again in the 88th minute.
Engmann’s second goal of the night would be the final goal of the match as Ballard FC finished 8-1 victors. Ballard will hope for more of the same next weekend as they head into the playoffs.
Ballard FC will return to Interbay Stadium on Friday July 22nd as we will host the first two rounds of playoffs. Interbay will host two matches on Friday with Ballard FC’s match at 7:00 PM and then the winners will face off at 2:00 PM on Sunday July 24th. Get tickets for all three games today! Tickets are likely going to sell out so don’t wait!
Photos courtesy of Marissa Lordahl, Blake Dahlin and Lou Cuevas
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