WISL Roundup

The WISL Roundup is your place to go for news about all of the clubs in the Western Indoor Soccer League!

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All photos by team photographer Charis Wilson.

by Chris Yard

Stars Insider

December 9, 2014

BYE WEEK WORK

Don’t be fooled by the term “Bye Week.” The Tacoma Stars sure didn’t treat last week like a Bye Week. Coach Darren Sawatsky worked his team as if it was a normal week.

Starting on Monday, Dec. 1st, the Stars took to the small back field at the Tacoma Soccer Center and worked on several passing drills and their physio. After that they played a hearty 2 quarters of 5v5 in the tight limited space. Darren stated, “It’s not all about defending and counter attacking in indoor Soccer. Plan ahead. Use the space and make decisive passes.” These drills helped the Stars strive towards this attitude. It was pretty intense with 28 players on that small field, but in the end it was a great experience for the team.

On Wednesday, the team met up on the larger field to get ready for the unscheduled friendly negotiated with the Olympic Force on Saturday night. Another intense practice with passing drills, physio, power play and power play killing tuned the players up before playing two 15 minute quarters of 5v5 action. With 38 players at practice this night, time was crucial to get enough practice in with the right people. The 5v5 time was used to hone the skills practiced earlier in the night.

Because the WISL Bye Week for the Stars was so intense, the team was ready to face the PASL Force with confidence. In front of a crowd of 320 fans, the Stars handled the Force with mostly disciplined play. They jumped out to an early lead and held on for the 7-3 victory. All the players that suited up were able to get some time in against a solid Force team, including all 3 goal keepers.

If this is a “Bye Week” for the Stars, can you imagine what the regular season practices are like? With first hand knowledge, I can tell you that coach Sawatsky runs his practices with the same intensity, Bye Week or not. The Stars will practice twice this week to get ready for their next WISL match against the Wenatchee Fire on the other side of the pass on Saturday night at 7:30. Let’s try to get as many people there for this match and cheer these guys on. After all, they put a lot of time and effort into getting a quality product on the field for the fans to enjoy.

by Merrick Parnell November 5, 2014

ARLINGTON, WA—The Arlington Aviators will play the 2014-2015 season in the newly formed Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL).

The Aviators, founded in 2012, had played the last two seasons as members of the Premier Arena Soccer League’s Northwest Division before moving to the WISL. Last season they finished in second place amongst clubs from: Bremerton, Bellingham, Wenatchee, Snohomish and Burnaby, B.C.

“We know the Aviators from two years of playing in the NW PASL Premier League, says WISL Commissioner John Crouch, “and we knew they would make a great asset and addition to the league.

Arlington was instantly competitive in the PASL and we enjoyed playing them in friendlies with our (South Sound Shock) team. We are certainly looking forward to them being a pillar in the league and we see their ambition to be strong both on and off the field!”

Arlington will continue to play their home games at the Soccer First Indoor Sports Arena. Bellingham United, Wenatchee Fire, Oly Town Artesians and the Tacoma Stars will visit during the WISL regular season.

The Aviators will open their WISL season on Saturday, November 15th, at 7:30 against the Fire. Arlington will play four home games in league play along with some exhibition games. The first exhibition is November 8 when the Aviator Reserves will host Seattle Sporting at 7:30 PM.

Aviators 2014-15 Schedule:

All home games start at 7:30

November 8 Home v. Seattle Sporting (exhibition)

November 15 Home v. Wenatchee Fire

December 6 Away v. Bellingham United

December 13 Home v. Oly Town Artisians

December 20 Away v. Tacoma Stars

January 3 Away v. Wenatchee Fire

January 17 Home v. Tacoma Stars

January 24 Home v. Bellingham United

January 31 Away v. Oly Town Artesians

November 5, 2014

October 22, 2014 – The Arlington Aviators have announced that they will play a pre-season exhibition against a new local club from the PASL, Seattle Sporting FC. The Aviators will host Sporting on Saturday night November 8 at 7:30 PM at Soccer First Indoor Sports in Arlington. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Sporting plays outdoor soccer in the NPSL during the summer.

October 18, 2014 – The Oly Town Artesians (Like them here) are brewing up plans for their first season of indoor soccer competition at Oly Indoor Soccer (Facebook.)

Tryouts were held (see photo below) and player recruitment is ongoing as the team looks ahead to their WISL debut November 22 at home against the Tacoma Stars.

The Artesians recently put season tickets on sale and have already made some fan gear available.

October 18, 2014 – The Tacoma Stars (Like them here) will hold their open tryouts on Sunday October 19 at the Tacoma Soccer Center (Facebook). The Stars have been looking at invited players and training for several weeks now. On Saturday Night October 25 at 7:30 PM the Stars will host Seattle Impact FC of the MASL in a pre-season friendly.

On Saturday November 1 the Northwest Indoor Soccer Invitational will be held at the Tacoma Soccer Center. All WISL clubs and other elite indoor sides from the area will play to prepare for the season.

The Stars recently gave fans a sneak peek (see photo) at their blue kit for the new WISL season. Tacoma opens at home November 15 against Bellingham United.

Ocrober 18, 2014 – The Wenatchee Fire (Like them here) are in training for their WISL debut after open tryouts on September 30 at the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex (Facebook) were followed by invites and more tryouts the next week.

The Fire will open their season November 15 at Arlington. It’s a great match-up that will build on last season when both clubs were in the PASL. They met in Wenatchee in a 20-goal thriller that ended in a 10-10 tie (see photo below.)



October 18, 2014 – Bellingham United (Like them here) recently held their first tryout session at the Bellingham Sportsplex (Facebook). See a photo below.

The Hammers are the previous WSA Rapids, who have developed solid indoor stars in the past. Just look at this club post: two former WSA Rapids are going to play pro with Seattle Impact FC.

The Hammers will open their WISL season on November 15 at the Tacoma Stars.

October 18, 2014 – The Arlington Aviators (Like them here) have been playing pre-season warmup matches against local high school all-stars. New head coach Dagi Kesim has been evaluating players and also taking a fresh look at how to approach tactics in the indoor game. The Aviators recently got their dry fit warm-ups. See the photo below.

Arlington enjoys a good relationship with their goalkeeper gloves sponsor, West Coast Goalkeeping. Recently they posed for a “thank you” shot. See it below.

Arlington Hosts Wenatchee Fire November 15 at Soccer First Indoor Sports (Facebook) in their WISL home opener. The Aviators are entering their third season of indoor play. Last year in the PASL they went 6-2-2.