Oly Town Artesians FC Brings High-Level Soccer to the South Sound by Heidi Smith
For serious soccer players in the Olympia area, few opportunities have existed locally to take their game to the next level. Ryan Perkins, Jason Smith and Matt Herrera came of age in the South Sound at a time when staying competitive meant driving all the way to downtown Seattle on weeknights to train. “There was nothing around,” says Perkins. “Now we have a place for local players to compete at the highest level, keep their fitness up and possibly get scouted by professional clubs or higher-level NCAA schools, whether they’re in college or former semi-pros looking to get back in the game.” That place is Oly Town FC, an Olympia-based soccer club with indoor and outdoor league teams for both men and women. The club thurstonchamber.com
underwent an ownership change in the fall of 2021 with Perkins handling administrative duties, while Smith coaches the men’s outdoor team and Herrera serves as the women’s coach this summer. All three are members of the ownership team and former players who have been involved in the Pacific Northwest soccer scene for decades. Founded in 2014 by Brandon Sparks, Oly Town Artesians FC was originally an indoor club team known as the Tumwater Pioneers. In 2021, Oly Town added a men’s outdoor team and joined the USL League Two, a semi-professional developmental association with clubs throughout the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. Oly Town formed a women’s indoor team in 2019, only to have it promptly shut down because of the pandemic.
This year the club is fielding a women’s outdoor team to compete in the Northwest Premier League, and already they’re in serious contention for the league championship. As of this writing, the women’s side are one game away from the final game against Capital FC in Salem, Oregon. Recruitment strategies differ slightly between the men’s and women’s clubs. Smith notes that Oly Town got off to a late start by joining the USL when recruitment season was already in full swing. “This first season is to establish a good rapport with players and surrounding colleges,” he explains. “The USL is a great opportunity for college players to continue playing at a high level once their spring season ends. We want UW, PLU and Portland to know they can send their players to us.”
Thurston County Chamber VOICE
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