FC Olympia knocks out South Sound FC for first-ever road playoff win in arena soccer

FC Olympia seals a statement of intent to go for all the marbles as they knocked out their St. Helens division rivals, South Sound FC, in a commanding 7-2 beatdown to book their tickets to the semifinal of the ongoing Western Indoor Soccer League playoff round at the Tacoma Soccer Center Saturday evening.

Jesus Flores and Alan Barragan both scored twice, and goals from Kasey Sidor, Nigel El Sokkary, and Kainoa Wong finished the job for the Artesians as they dominated this crucial playoff match from start to finish to clinch their first-ever postseason win away from home in the club’s 10-year arena soccer history.

FC Olympia came into the playoffs as the #5 seed after losing to SSFC away and drawing to them 4-4 at home as the tiebreaker prioritized head-on matches, which gave South Sound the home advantage for this win-or-go-home playoff match.

It was an intense kickoff for both sides at the Tacoma Soccer Center as both struggled in a tug of war on the attacking front, with the Artesians adamant about putting the ball in goal through their quick passage of play and pressure at their penalty area while the hosts tried to counter but only misfired on the final third as FC Olympia goalkeeper remained cool in front of the sticks.

In the match previews, SSFC noted the presence of FC Olympia’s top scorer Manny Nicasio and had ways to neutralize him. They did as they man-marked the main talisman every time he was on the pitch, but little did they know that FC Olympia is focused on distributing the goals because that’s how they play.

The Artesians finally found momentum as Jesus Flores capitalized on a misplaced pass in the backline that caught the defense sleeping, punishing the mistake in defense after seven minutes of tense soccer to break the ice 1-0 for the visitors.

South Sound FC tried to equalize directly after trailing, but their attempts went wide mostly as FC Olympia was tight and disciplined in the defense despite the pressure of the opponent’s attack. Three minutes after the opener, Nigel El Sokkary slammed a rocket of a semi-volley from a tight angle in the right-wing that stunned the SSFC keeper as the visitors doubled their lead in the first period.

A big chance was gifted to the Artesians early in the second period as a penalty was given after SSFC keeper Nathan Salveson was given a blue card after a handball from outside the penalty area, only for Flores not to take advantage of the call after the penalty was saved by the reserve keeper Cole Weaver.

A powerplay was given later for South Sound, but they still can’t get past the FC Olympia defense. Sensing they can extend the lead, El Sokkary finds an uncontested ball and plays a peach of a through ball for Kasey Sidor as he beats the substitute keeper in his near post to make it 3-0 at 6 minutes before halftime.

The Artesians were still relentless at this point, as goalkeeper Isaiah Damschen’s ball distribution was crucial for the whole of the Artesian offense. His long throw from the back found Flores in the final third before he crossed it to Alan Barragan, who danced with the keeper before putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 4-0 at halftime.

Despite the wide lead, the Artesians continued the aggression and consistently disciplined SSFC in the second half.

Despite Derek Johnson opening the scoring for SSFC in the third period after taking advantage of the powerplay, Jesus Flores responded in the start of the fourth quarter with a strike of his own to make it 5-1 with 8 minutes left to play.

Derek Johnson found his second goal for South Sound FC with four minutes to go, but the game is really done and dusted here, with the cherry on top being the two goals in the final 75 seconds of playing time.

Despite being double-teamed for the majority of the whole game, Nicasio, who will be inducted as an Oly Legend after his 34-goal feat, still found ways to contribute to the team as he lays the ball to an unmarked Kainoa Wong that taps it into the roof of the goal before another Nicasio assist led to an open goal for Alan Barragan to seal this historic result for FC Olympia – WISL Semis here we go!

This big result, being the first-ever postseason away victory for FC Olympia in its arena soccer history, is a confidence booster for the upcoming WISL semifinal leg as the Artesians will face the #2 seed Bellingham United at the Bellingham Sportsplex on February 24 at 7:30 PM kickoff.

The last result of the Artesians against the Hammers was a close 6-5 defeat just two weeks ago at the same venue, and FC Olympia are set to trek back to the north to face Bellingham United in front of their loud home support to inch closer to the WISL trophy.

The visiting Artesians strike a pose with a young travelling fan after their 7-2 win against South Sound FC at the Tacoma.