Salmon Bay FC Celebrates International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. At Salmon Bay FC, women are celebrated and championed every single day – on the field, on the sidelines, in the stands, in the front office, and throughout the hyperlocal soccer community. This International Women’s Day, the club aims to highlight the individuals who improve not just Salmon Bay FC, but the entire Seattle sports community.

Let’s start with the obvious, the wonderful women playing at Pagliacci Pitch in front of 1,500 screaming fans. Salmon Bay FC was created to bring both hyperlocal soccer and the women’s game to Ballard and its surrounding communities touched by the waters of the Salmon Bay.

In year one, the club did just that as it platformed over 30 of Seattle’s best soccer talents and provided a needed pathway to the professional game for women’s soccer players in this country. So far, three players from the inaugural squad – Elena Milam, Hallie Bergford, and Sadie Sider-Echenberg – have signed professional contracts internationally. Two more players, Chloe Seelhoff and Keeley Dockter, were invited to the Seattle Reign’s preseason camp, and many more will continue to go pro.

The professional game is not the only place where Salmon Bay FC players have been playing and excelling. With much of the roster still in college, the club is proud to support and highlight them as they have success with their collegiate programs. Locally, the University of Washington Women’s Soccer team won both the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournaments Championships, with five Salmon Bay FC players starting nearly every match for the Huskies. All in all, 10 Salmon Bay FC players won conference championships this fall, with 12 players making the NCAA tournament. Additionally, 15 players received end-of-season honors, including one All-American. Read the fall recap for a more detailed look at how the Salmon Bay squad performed this past fall.

Coaching the players on the pitch are the talented women and men on the Salmon Bay FC technical staff. Head coach Malia Arrant has been involved in the Seattle soccer scene for over 25 years as a player, coach, and club director. She was the perfect person to lead the club into its inaugural season in 2025 and will continue to push the club forward in year two.

Alongside Coach Arrant is Associate Head Coach Chalise Baysa, another staple of the Seattle soccer scene as both a player and coach. Together, they led a Salmon Bay FC side that only lost once, conceded only twice (fewest goals allowed in the league), and won seven of eleven matches last summer. They will continue to lead both the team and the rest of the technical staff to new heights in 2026.

Watching from the stands are women of all ages coming to support hyperlocal women’s soccer. The club is grateful for all of the fans. The stands are filled with young girls inspired by Samiah Shell’s goal-scoring prowess, adults who are supporting something that was not possible for them to experience playing careers, and countless women who just want to watch women’s sports and soccer.

In the front office, Salmon Bay FC is powered by Vice President Tiffany Mallick. Before Salmon Bay FC, Mallick played college soccer at California State University, San Bernardino, was an athletic trainer for Seattle University and Seattle Sounders Women, and played touch rugby for the United States National Team. Now, Mallick leads Seattle’s premiere women’s semi-professional soccer team, still competes with USA Touch Rugby, and is an athletic trainer for Ballard FC.

“I am incredibly proud to have participated in and worked in women’s sports, especially in Seattle. And now as Vice President of Salmon Bay FC, I can’t wait to continue inspiring young girls and helping increase access to high quality soccer to women in and around Seattle.” – Tiffany Mallick, VP of Salmon Bay FC

Mallick leads a whole team of staff from game day operations interns to camp coaches, to photographers, and more. At every level of the staff, women play a huge role in making Salmon Bay FC the success it is.

When Salmon Bay FC was being created, it was essential to have women in every part of the organization, especially the ownership group. Ahead of the inaugural season, over 25 incredible and influential Seattle women were added to the ownership group for both Salmon Bay FC and Ballard FC. These 25 women include NWSL players like Jess Fishlock and Sam Hiatt, parts of the Seattle Storm ownership group including Ginny Gilder, and the CEO and founder of Rough & Tumble, Jen Barnes. Read more about the ownership group and the people behind the club.

In addition to the ownership group, Salmon Bay FC prides itself on working with businesses that are women-owned. A prime example is the club’s brewery partner, Stoup Brewing, which has two women co-owners and co-founders powering one of Ballard’s classic breweries.

Salmon Bay FC is grateful for and celebrates these women every single day, especially on this International Women’s Day. Women’s sports are becoming more and more mainstream, and Salmon Bay FC is proud to be part of this movement because everyone watches women’s sports. This couldn’t be more true for the city of Seattle which is home to many professional women’s sports teams and just recently broke the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game. Seattle and Salmon Bay FC has been and will continue to be a pioneer for women’s sports.