Ballard FC wins USL2 championship in thrilling fashion

Ballard moves one step closer to a potential meeting with Sounders in U.S. Open Cup.

Ballard FC are USL League 2 champions in just their second season of existence following a thrilling 2-1 win over Virginia’s Lionsbridge FC in front of 3,416 fans at Starfire Stadium on Saturday. The winning goal came off what was essentially the last play of the game, a 94th-minute free kick that Peter Kingston put into the box. Although a Lionsbridge defender appeared to get the last touch, the free kick was deemed to have been goal-bound anyway and was officially credited to Kingston, who was one of three Ballard starters who had previously spent time in the Sounders Academy.

The goal was the culmination of a back-and-forth match that saw Ballard grab an early lead through Stas Korzeniowski after he collected a poor clearance from a defender and pounded it into the net.

It was Korzeniowski’s 19th goal of the USL2 season and his sixth during the national playoffs, having scored in 3 of 4 matches that included a hat trick in the Western Conference finals. Korzeniowski also played a chunk of the game with a bandage around his head after being bloodied, but was sent off in the 84th minute after picking up a second yellow card.

Lionsbridge also played a significant chunk of the match with 10 men after Adam Kirkwood was shown a second yellow in the 37th minute. Still, they managed to find an 80th-minute equalizer through Josh Baker, who volleyed a shot from inside the penalty area after a long throw-in was headed back across the box.

That seemed like it was going to be enough to at least get Lionsbridge to overtime, but a foul on the sideline in the game’s final moments provided an opening that Ballard exploited.

The championship marks the second time a Washington team has won this league’s national title. The Kitsap Pumas won in 2011 when the league was called the PDL. The Pumas also made the final in 2014, as did the Spokane Shadow in 1999.

Although not yet official, Ballard also effectively guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup. The format for that tournament has not yet been announced, but it has traditionally included at least a handful of USL2/PDL teams and Ballard now owns the top qualifying spot. That roster could be significantly different than this one, however, as none of Ballard’s players are currently paid and many will return to colleges outside of the area now that the season is over. Assuming they participate, Ballard would start the tournament in the first round and would likely be at least two wins away from potentially meeting the Sounders, something Kitsap twice did in 2011 and 2016.