SEATTLE — One of Seattle’s newest professional teams is championship-bound in its second season.
Ballard FC, the semi-professional soccer club, is competing in the USL League 2 National Final this weekend, which will be an opportunity of a lifetime for these up-and-coming players.
"Stakes wise this is probably the biggest game I've played, the biggest game I'll be a part of," said 21-year-old Christian Engmann whose been one of the rising stars on this team since its beginning.
Engmann is just one of many Ballard FC players who are from western Washington. He's from Shoreline and plays soccer for San Diego State when he’s not playing for Ballard. But said there's no better feeling than playing in front of the Ballard FC fans, who have sold out every home game at Interbay Stadium this season.
“Playing in front of a lot of fans, playing in front of a lot of family and friends and your hometown, it's pretty amazing," said Engmann.
Three local soccer fans created this community-driven environment. Including Federal Way-born, former Sounders player Lamar Neagle.
"Create a community event that just so happened to be based on the soccer team and so with that, we knew that Ballard would be a great place to start that and build a sense of pride and community and they absolutely wrapped their arms around it," said Neagle.
Neagle is grateful for the community support, as the club looks to expand the world's game here at home.
"This is the top talent in the country, and it’s based in our area, in the Seattle area,” said Neagle. “So this is something that not a lot of times kids get to play for a national title no matter what level."
Although securing a USL2 National title and becoming a pro is the goal for many of these players, Engmann said it feels like he's already living out his childhood dream.
"But playing for Ballard FC where it truly is my home, we're just 10 minutes away from the house, that's a dream that I didn't even know was a dream come true," said Engmann.
The game will be at Starfire Stadium on Saturday, Aug, 5, with kick-off at 7 p.m. Ballard FC will be taking on Lionsbridge FC from Newport News, Virginia.