Postseason Preview: Who’s Still Dancing?

There are 14 players from Salmon Bay FC’s 2025 roster still competing in their respective postseasons this fall.

Of the 14 players still competing this fall, 11 of them are playing in the NCAA Division 1 Tournament which starts on Friday, November 14th.

Seven of these 11 players will face off against each other on Friday night as the University of Montana travels to Seattle to take on the University of Washington. The University of Montana roster includes the Salmon Bay FC midfield duo of Chloe Seelhoff and Carly Whalen. Unfortunately, both Seelhoff and Whalen suffered season-ending injuries this fall but both were very key contributors for the Big Sky Regular Season and Tournament Champions. Seelhoff, who was First Team All-Big Sky, managed to convert a penalty kick in the shootout of the Conference Championship match with a broken collarbone. She will be prepared to do the same in the NCAA tournament if needed.

On the other side are the Husky hosts who have five Salmon Bay FC players on their roster: Samiah Shell, Anna Menti, Maya Loudd, Alex Buck, and Tanner Ijams. All five of these players were consistent starters for a University of Washington team that won both the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Buck earned First Team All-Big Ten honors, Loudd made the Second Team, while Menti rounded out the selections with a Third Team nod. In the Big Ten Tournament, Shell was named the Most Outstanding Player, while Ijams and Buck both made the All-Tournament Team.

The Huskies will host Montana at 7pm on Friday, November 14th. Get tickets here!

Montana and Washington are not the only schools with Salmon Bay FC players to win both the regular season and tournament championships of their respective conferences. The number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament, Stanford University, claimed both the ACC Regular Season and Tournament Titles and have a pair of Salmon Bay FC players on their squad this fall: Milly Bray and Freya Spiekerkoetter. The Cardinals will look to make a third consecutive College Cup run. They start their NCAA tournament campaign on Friday night as they host Cal Poly.

The final conference champion amongst the eleven Salmon Bay FC NCAA tournament participants is Kaya Hanson, who captured her third straight Big East Regular Season Title with Georgetown University this fall. Despite losing in the Big East Tournament Final, the Hoyas still received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they will be a No. 2 seed. Hanson is having her best collegiate season yet, earning Second Team All-Big East honors. Georgetown begins its tournament campaign on Friday afternoon as they host Sacred Heart.

Rounding out the eleven Salmon Bay players in the tournament is Kelsey Kwon of Northwestern University. The Wildcats were one of the best teams in the Big Ten this fall and earned an at-large bid to the tournament. won, a senior, has been a key contributor all season — appearing in all 20 matches, making 11 starts, recording one assist, and scoring her first career collegiate goal. Northwestern will travel to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide this Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Outside of Division 1, three Salmon Bay FC players will compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament this weekend. Mercedes Cullen and Sophie Hanay will represent the Seattle Pacific University Falcons as they take on Western Washington tomorrow afternoon in the conference semifinals. In the other semifinal, Maya Courtenay and the Western Oregon University Wolves are up against Simon Fraser.

Fans can support seven Salmon Bay FC players in-person locally at Husky Soccer Stadium this Friday. For everyone else, make sure to follow along via the respective live streams or social media.

Schedule

• Thursday, November 13th
  • Seattle Pacific University (Mercedes and Sophie) v. Western Washington, 2pm
  • Western Oregon University (Maya C) v. Simon Fraser, 5pm
• Friday, November 14th
  • Georgetown University (Kaya) v. Sacred Heart, 3:30pm
  • Northwestern University (Kelsey) v. Alabama, 4pm
  • Stanford University (Milly and Freya) v. Cal Poly, 6pm
  • University of Washington (Samiah, Anna, Maya L, Alex, and Tanner) v. University of Montana (Chloe and Carly), 7pm

Written by Max Dresbach