Ballard FC announced its U.S. Open Cup first round round roster ahead of their matchup on Wednesday, March 19th, against Spokane Velocity FC at Interbay Stadium.
Ballard FC, the defending USL League Two (USL 2) Northwest Division Champions, have a squad of 26 players that includes 13 returners from last season’s division title roster as well as some exciting new additions. These 26 players were selected by Head Coach James Riley from a larger pool of eligible players. Of these players, 18 will be selected for the matchday roster.
Some players that Ballard FC have announced for the USL 2 season were not available for the U.S. Open Cup due to various circumstances. Some players participating in the U.S. Open Cup will not be participating in the USL 2 regular season. This is the nature of the tournament and putting an amateur roster together months in advance of the traditional USL 2 season.
Now, let’s examine the roster from back to front:
In goal, we have three returners from the 2024 season competing for the starting spot. Charlie Lanphier, who started for Ballard FC in 2024, returns to the squad after winning a WAC Tournament Title with Seattle University in the fall. Pierluca Carnovale is also back at Interbay Stadium after starting for Seattle Pacific University in 2024. The Ballard High School graduate has been with Ballard FC since 2023 and was in the matchday squad for the National Championship. Lastly, we have Jackson Buck to round out the goalkeeper crew. Buck made four starts across all competitions for Ballard FC in 2024, going undefeated in those four matches.
In defense, key returners include Luke Hammond and Isaac Ketcham. By the end of the season, Hammond became the starter at left back for Ballard FC in 2024, assisting our lone playoff goal against Project 51O. Ketcham is a phenomenal squad player as he can play both center back and left back at a high level. Last year, Ketcham started at center back alongside Demian Alvarez for our Open Cup match. Joining Hammond and Ketcham are the starting center backs from Seattle University and the University of Washington, Davis Mungomba and Harrison Bertos. After being hampered by injury, Mungomba started six of Seattle University’s final seven matches to help them win the WAC Tournament Title. Bertos had a great Sophomore season with the huskies, winning Top Drawer Soccer (TDS) National Team of the Week honors once and being selected in the MLS SuperDraft by San Diego FC. The defense is rounded out by Kaydin Wall, Dylan Wojdyla, Sean Russell and Leon Niederelz.
The midfield group is highlighted by returners Ray Mendez and Sean Sent as well as former Seattle Sounder Kelyn Rowe. Mendez rejoins Ballard FC after winning GNAC Player of the Year with Seattle Pacific University while Sent will come back to Seattle after transferring to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for his final year of eligibility. He’ll be joined by another UCLA midfielder, Rowe, who is coming out of retirement to join Ballard FC’s Open Cup run. Rowe played over 300 MLS matches in his career, and made 86 appearances for the Seattle Sounders. The rest of the midfield group includes Andre Philibbosian, Zach Ramsey, Abeselom Zemenfes, and returner Cristian Chel Lara. Philibbosian (Seattle U), Ramsey (UW), and Chel Lara (SPU) all contributed heavily to their college programs as freshman in 2024. Ramsey was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Philibbosian made the WAC All-Freshman Team and was recognized as a TDS Top 100 Freshman at the end of the season.
Arguably the toughest competition for minutes is in attack. The winger group is highlighted by the husky trio of Joe Dale, Richie Aman, and Cameron Cruz who all return to Ballard FC. Dale is a four year player for the club, one of only three players who have been with Ballard FC since the very beginning whereas Aman and Cruz are returning for their second seasons. they are joined by Nii Engmann, brother of Ballard FC defender Christian Engmann, and David Campos to finish out the winger group. Then up top, returners Austin Brummett and Alex Mejia are joined by the University of Washington’s Charlie Kosakoff. Brummett was Ballard FC’s leading scorer in 2024 while Mejia scored two clutch goals in the final two regular season matches. Mejia is the only player still with Ballard FC that started in the club’s inaugural match. Kosakoff joins the roster after a great season with huskies where he was second on the team for both goals (5) and points (14).
Take a look at the full roster below as Ballard FC prepares for Wednesday’s match. Get your tickets today!
Ballard FC U.S. Open Cup First Round Roster
| Number | Name | Position |
| 10 | Richie Aman | Forward |
| 4 | Harrison Bertos | Defender |
| 9 | Austin Brummett | Forward |
| 1 | Jackson Buck | Goalkeeper |
| David Campos | Forward | |
| 41 | Pierluca Carnovale | Goalkeeper |
| 22 | Cristian Chel Lara | Midfielder |
| 27 | Cameron Cruz | Forward/Midfielder |
| 14 | Joe Dale | Forward/Midfielder/Defender |
| 12 | Nii Engmann | Forward |
| 3 | Luke Hammond | Defender |
| 20 | Isaac Ketcham | Defender |
| 29 | Charlie Kosakoff | Forward |
| 13 | Charlie Lanphier | Goalkeeper |
| 16 | Alex Mejia | Forward |
| 19 | Ray Mendez | Forward/Midfielder |
| 7 | Davis Mungomba | Defender |
| Leon Niederelz | Defender | |
| 26 | Andre Philibbosian | Midfielder |
| 11 | Zach Ramsey | Midfielder/Forward |
| 8 | Kelyn Rowe | Midfielder |
| Sean Russell | Defender | |
| 23 | Sean Sent | Midfielder |
| 18 | Kaydin Wall | Midfielder/Defender |
| 31 | Dylan Wojdyla | Defender |
| 25 | Abeselom Zemenfes | Midfielder |
