Taketo Onodera’s delicate finish put Ballard FC up inside the first 9 minutes, but the new side Tacoma Stars came back to make it 2-1 and thought they had done enough. Until Christian Engmann pounced on a last-minute corner to end the game level at 2-2.
WHAT HAPPENED
It was a beautiful day for Ballard FC’s USL2 season to kick off away from home against the newcomers Tacoma Stars, with roughly 100 Ballard FC supporters making the trip to support the visiting team.
The contagious energy of the first match was apparent from the get-go as both teams flew into challenges and surged forward on attack.
In the opening minutes, the Stars received their first yellow card of the match, leading to a freekick outside the box. The attempt at goal was deflected off the wall for the first corner of the game, which was taken quickly and forced an early save.
Ballard FC was very positive with the ball, creating a slew of other early looks at goal.
This momentum was capitalized on when Austin Brummett made a cutting pass to find Taketo Onodera on the end of a sharp run through the Tacoma defense. Taketo set himself up with his first touch amidst pressure and calmly rolled the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0 for The Bridges in the ninth minute.
This early goal opened the game up even more, with both sides seeing more chances. Each side put in a number of crosses into the opposing box, but both keepers did well to keep the score at 0-1.
It was also a very physical battle, with Tacoma receiving two more yellows in the half and Ballard FC’s Khai Brisco receiving one in the 23rd minute.
While the game was very back and forth, Ballard FC had dominance of possession and chances in the half.
Against the run of play, Tacoma forward Charlie Kosakoff capitalized on a mix-up at the back and rounded the keeper to slot it away, making it 1-1 going into halftime.
The second half maintained the rapid pace of the first with a number of early chances and Ballard looking close to grabbing a second.
One of the closest efforts came in the 64th minute when a whipped ball into the box from a free kick was met with a powerful header that flashed over the bar.
In the 69th minute, the Tacoma Stars got down the sideline and sent a cross into the box that was brought down and volleyed into the top corner by Johnny Ramirez.
Ballard FC brought on a number of new attacking options in response to try and find an equalizer as the game entered stoppage time.
In the 93rd minute, Ballard FC earned a cornerkick which looked to be the last chance of the game.
The corner was driven on top of the goalkeeper, and the Ballard FC pressure caused the ball to bounce down inside the 6-yard box. Defender Christian Engmann reacted to the loose ball first and buried it to tie up the game in the dying moments of the match.
After a hard-fought 94 minutes, the game ended in a 2-2 tie that both teams can be proud of.
HOW WE LINED UP:
BALLARD FC XI: Charlie Lanphier, Christian Engmann, Leo Burney, Khai Brisco, Isaac Ketcham, Sean Sent, Taketo Onodera, Peter Kingston, Richie Aman, Joe Dale, Austin Brummett
SUBS: Demian Alvarez, Daniel Burko, Charlie Holmes, Cameron Yriondo, Rafi Otero, Cameron Cruz, Adam Braman
WHAT’S NEXT?
Ballard FC looks ahead now to our home opener at Memorial Stadium, Friday, May 24th against Midlakes United. Players will be hungry to get the first win of the season in front of the home fans, and with Midlakes United being another new team to the league, it will be another exciting new fixture.
