Ballard FC melts Whitecaps in international friendly prior to 2023 season
By Charles Hamaker
Interbay, WA – Prior to their league schedule beginning for their second year in club history, Ballard FC dominated the Vancouver Whitecaps U19 team behind a three goal first half. This year's roster seemed to display some solid physicality against the Vancouver side through the first 45 minutes, and while the Whitecaps were able to settle down a bit after the halftime break, Ballard locked things down to secure the victory. Head coach Jason Farrell was able to rotate his squad as the match went on to get different players minutes, as Ballard made 12 different substitutions including Ballard High School alum goalkeeper Pierluca Carnovale. Following a thrilling inaugural season, Ballard is looking to reach the USL League two playoffs once again and go deeper this time around.
Ballard FC defender and team captain Lesia Thetsane practices prior to kick (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Flaming hot first half
Coming off a season where the club was able to score plenty of goals, Ballard was able to add even more firepower this year and it showed throughout the first half of this match. Several returning faces got on the board, while a new and notable face to watch this introduced himself. That would be Stas Korzeniowski, a 6’4” forward from Penn University that has touch on the ball and speed. Korzeniowski highlights a few new faces that will put on the beautiful Ballard kits, including midfielder Danny Robles, but perhaps the star of tonight’s victory was returning forward Peter Kingston. In just the second minute of the match, Kingston opened his account for the 2023 season and began a man of the match level performance.
Ballard FC’s Peter Kingston celebrates his goal in the 2nd minute of the match (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Immediately after the whistle, Ballard was able to break down Vancouver’s defense and get into the box, as forward Charlie Gaffney lofted a ball into the center of the box. Kingston leapt up and connected, sending it over Whitecaps U19 goalkeeper Maxwell Campeau’s extended arms and into the box of the net. It also was the first goal to be scored in front of the extended beer garden at Interbay to the delight of fans, kicking off the second year in style. Kingston was able to elevate with ease and little resistance from Vancouver, and that sort of physical prowess was displayed throughout the course of the match.
Nine minutes later, Stas made his entrance to the Ballard fans. Keeping up with the headed theme of the night early on, Kingston sent in a corner that Korzeniowski blasted as his tall frame towered over the rest of the competition and into the same corner that Kingston’s goal had located. The chaos on corner kicks continued from Peter Kingston, as the Whitecaps had surrendered one off some solid buildup from Ballard in the 30th minute. The University of Washington forward (recently transferred from Seattle University) whipped a ball in that found defender Christian Engmann back post for a blasted header. A trio of scores, all having some influence by Kingston who aims to help this club to loftier heights.
Ballard FC’s Stas Korzeniowski and Christian Engmann celebrate their first half goals (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Physicality present from starting group
While the second half was somewhat “quieter” in comparison to the first, as Ballard only scored once to push their total to four and the Whitecaps found a goal, it was intriguing to note a key difference from last season. Ballard will be a more physical and overpowering team this season, notably with some like Stas Korzeniowski up top. That sort of physical presence was necessarily there in 2022 for Ballard, and it could help them become even better this year with the added talent. Power and skill are a dangerous combination, and when you add some speed to that? Watch out, USL League two.
Ballard FC’s Leo Burney celebrates his 60th minute goal (Photo by Liv Lyons)
After the break, Vancouver settled in and looked better overall, but they failed to break through to make this a real game. Coach Farrell getting his reserves in saw new face Ben Do, another Penn University player, assist on a Leo Burney goal in the 65th as Burney got low to head the ball from Do in. That goal responded to Vancouver’s score and put the cap on this one, as many of Ballard’s reserves got time in ahead of league play. Outside of the goal against, it’d be safe to say that Ballard will happily take the result and the experience that they got in the win over the Whitecaps U19 side.
What’s next?
Following a few weeks of preseason and this international friendly, the club will now get ready for their season opener on Sunday, May 21st. Ballard will head down to Olympia for a battle with Oly Town FC with a kickoff of 3PM PST. Last year, Ballard went 2-1-0 against Oly Town and will look to keep that record clean when the two teams open the 2023 USL League two season. While there were numerous substitutions in tonight’s match to display the club's depth, Ballard is still having players roll in and we may see new faces even after the opening match of the season.