The San Francisco Glens first USL League 2 postseason run ended in Washington State on Sunday afternoon, losing to Ballard FC 3-2 on a stunning goal in extra time.
Ballard struck first in the 13th minute when Christian Engmann headed home from close range.
The Glens tied the game up behind a strike from Diego Grande in the 35th minute, but two minutes later, Ballard’s Alex Mejia helped the home side regain the lead.
San Francisco pressed for the equalizer, but Ballard was able to hold off the Glens for most of the second half.
Finally, in the 87th minute, Dominic Valdivia slotted home a free kick opportunity to draw the match level and send it to extra time.
The first period of extra time remained scoreless, but four minutes into the last frame of extra time, Ballard broke through thanks to a lucky bounce for their goalscorer Alex Mejia.
A Glens defender’s poor header that inadvertently bounced backward instead of forward. Ballard’s Mejia and San Francisco keeper Eliot Jones each ran for the loose ball. Jones got to it first, but his desperate clearance was partially deflected by Mejia and floated high into the air back towards the goal.
Three Glens defenders attempted to place themselves to corral the rebound, which bounced in the penalty bounce with some backspin and moved away from them and towards the onrushing Mejia.
Mejia lept into the air, flicked the ball over the Glens defenders, and into the goal for the game-winning strike.
With the loss, the San Francisco Glens successful season ended on a sour note. However, there were plenty of positives for the team to take away and build towards next season when the club should have a brand new soccer field to play their matches at Treasure Island in 2023.
