Bellevue, WA – June 1, 2026 – Sy Hoekstra
The Season’s First Setback
Ballard FC 2, Midlakes United 0
Midlakes United came into Thursday’s road match at Ballard FC with a clear game plan: defend deep, limit chances, and find something on the counter. For the first 45 minutes, it half worked.
Fielding a heavily defensive 4-2-3-1 formation, Midlakes kept Ballard largely at bay in the opening half, holding possession well enough in the early stages that the scoreline didn’t tell the whole story. Reise Corpuz and Sebastian Rangel pressed high in midfield to prevent Ballard from playing out of the back, and the approach paid off by limiting the hosts’ first-half looks. Midfielder Dan McKay was highly effective in the second line of defense, consistently winning the ball and snuffing out chances before they developed. His work and success finding channels through many a tight pocket earned him the Player of the Match nod.
But the tactical discipline only held so long. In the 25th minute, Eli White — starting on the back line in place of a recovering Victor Akoum — was penalized for a foul on Alex Notzka in front of an open goal, and Ballard forward Anton Hjalmarsson drilled a low penalty kick to keeper Will Ficek’s right. Ficek guessed correctly but couldn’t reach it. Hjalmarsson was a menace throughout, drawing fouls and orchestrating much of Ballard’s buildup play.
Fans will remember the name Alex Notzka, a Midlakes alum who missed the latter portion of last season due to injury after scoring several goals for the Eastside. Also starting for Ballard was former Midlakes midfielder Jack-Ryan Jeremiah.
Kavi Badh, who picked up from his standout recent performances with multiple sharp runs deep into Ballard territory, was one of the few Midlakes players who threatened consistently going forward. Trey Mitchell had Midlakes’ sole shot on target, a 39th-minute effort off a long throw-in, but a slight deflection took the pace off it.
The second half was Ballard’s. Seven minutes in, a Ballard free kick hit the wall, bounced high, and Notzka headed it forward for Omar Grey to tuck away. Grey was close to being offside, but there was no flag from the AR. From there, Midlakes could barely sustain possession in the attacking half. Ballard finished with 17 shots, nine on target. Ficek had seven saves, twice getting out to stop one-on-one breakaways. It was as stubborn a performance as Midlakes could have hoped given the onslaught, and Ficek continued his season streak of letting no goals in from open play.
Midlakes dropped to 2-1-1 on the young season. For the boys in ice blue, the road trip continues this week with three games, starting with the undefeated Portland Bangers. It will be a significant test of the squad’s resolve to see if they can bounce back.
