The playoffs are coming to the Salmon Bay as Interbay Stadium will host the USL W League Western Conference Playoffs this weekend.
The Western Conference semifinals and final will be July 3rd and 5th with Interbay Stadium hosting four teams. The first match will be played at 2pm between Capo FC and the Monterey Bay Sirens, and it will be followed at 7pm as hosts Salmon Bay FC take on Colorado Storm.
To preview Friday’s matches, let’s start with the Friday night lights showdown between the hosts and the number one team in the conference, the Colorado Storm. Get tickets to Friday’s match!
Salmon Bay FC
This weekend’s hosts are making their USL W League playoff debuts in just their second season. In their inaugural season, Salmon Bay FC had the best defense in the entire country, only allowing two goals all season, but the attack left something to be desired and the Salmon Sisters finished just a point shy of the division title and a trip to the playoffs.
This year Salmon Bay FC let in a few more goals, but still finished as the best defense in the NW Division. The offense is what really powered the club’s NW Division Title charge as they scored in each and every match, avoiding being shut out all season. As they attempt to upset the top team in the conference on Friday, Salmon Bay FC will hope that their home field advantage can spur them to victory once more. In the 2026 regular season, Salmon Bay FC went undefeated at Interbay Stadium with a 5-0-1 (W-L-D) record across their six matches at home. The Salmon Sisters will aim to keep that undefeated record going into the playoffs.
Salmon Bay FC’s attack is spearheaded by the fearsome foursome of Ginny Lackey, Samiah Shell, U’i Kaaihue, and Ameera Hussen. Lackey leads the team in goals with eight, while Shell leads the team in assists with six. Kaaihue and Hussen play a little bit deeper but each has five goals to their name while Kaaihue has three assists and Hussen has an assist and has also earned two penalties.
The defense is anchored by a trio of Philippine internationals: Alicia Barker, Juju Barker, and Jourdyn Curran. All three defenders have made senior appearances for the Philippine National Team and have been mainstays for the Salmon Bay backline all season. In goal, three players (Blayke Warner, Elena Milam, and Natalie Gram) have each made multiple starts this season. After finishing her professional season in Germany, Milam started the final three regular season matches for Salmon Bay FC and is expected to start this weekend.
With three teams vying for the Northwest Division Title all the way until the final matchday of the season, Salmon Bay FC has been in “playoff mode” for practically the whole month of June and will be prepared for the “win or go home” nature of the postseason. Now, let’s meet their opponents.
Colorado Storm SC
The Colorado Storm come to Seattle after clinching the Mountain Division Championship on the final day of the regular season. Knowing they needed to win their regular season finale by nine goals to win the division and make playoffs, the Storm won 11-0 against Albion SC to get the job done and finish above Real Colorado. Ava Galligan had a hat-trick, while Ava Priest and Natalie Beckman each had a brace in the dominant win.
Galligan is the Storm’s leading goalscorer with 11 goals on the season, closely followed by Reagan Kotschau who has 10. Reagan and her sister Marin Kotschau both scored in last Sunday’s season finale. They are the daughters of Ritchie Kotschau, the former United States Men’s National Team defender who made over 250 MLS appearances and won both an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup with the Chicago Fire. Reagan is U.S. U-20 international while Marin is primarily a defender and committed to the University of North Carolina.
Last year, the Colorado Storm men’s team came to Interbay Stadium to take on Ballard FC in the first round of the USL League Two playoffs. Ballard FC won 6-0 in that match on their way to the National Final. The Storm’s women’s team will be looking for some revenge this year against Salmon Bay FC.
The Storm can hang their hat on their stout defense, having only allowed five goals all season, and will feel confident they can slow down Salmon Bay’s high-powered attack.
Now, let’s preview Friday’s california clash which will open this weekend’s action at Interbay Stadium.
Monterey Bay Sirens
The Monterey Bay Sirens come into the playoffs as NorCal Division Champions after finishing the season with an 8-1-1 (W-L-D) record. Unlike many of the teams in these playoffs, the Sirens did not blow out many of their opponents, which is why the 24 goals scored on the season is the lowest total amongst the four teams playing at Interbay Stadium this weekend.
However, the Sirens have been masters of the close game, with half of their wins coming by just one goal. The backbone of the Sirens team is their defense as they only allow one goal per match on average, and they will look to lean on their backline once again to shut down Capo FC and any attack they face this postseason.
The Siren attack is les by Jessica Halladay who has nearly a third of the club’s goals with seven on the season and she will be the main focal point in the final third this Friday and beyond. Halladay will look to combine with Brianna Castleberry, the team leader in assists as this deadly duo will need to be firing on all cylinders for the Sirens to advance to the Western Conference Final. Now let’s meet their opponents, and the fourth and final team coming to Interbay Stadium this weekend.
Capo FC
Capo FC represent the SoCal Division in this year’s Western Conference Playoffs after finishing the 2026 regular season undefeated with an 8-0-2 (W-L-D) record. Capo FC are the only undefeated team left in the Western Conference and will look to stay “invincible” after this weekend and claim the Western Conference Championship.
Capo FC’s only draws both came against Santa Clarita Blue Heat FC as they swept the other four teams in the SoCal Division. Capo FC’s 30 goals this season were pretty spread out across the team, but Tara Oper still leads the way with five goals. Capo FC finished the regular season undefeated in large part due to their defense which only allowed eight goals all season, less than a goal per match.
Mikayla O’Brien is the starting goalkeeper for Capo FC and has starred all summer for the SoCal Division Champs after winning a WAC Tournament Championship with California Baptist University last fall. She will look to keep a pair of clean sheets this weekend enroute to a Western Conference Title.
After Friday’s matches, the winners will face off in the Western Conference Final at 6:30pm on Sunday July 5th after Ballard FC’s regular season match against the Tacoma Stars earlier that day at 2pm. This match will also be hosted at Interbay Stadium. Purchase tickets today for all three matches this weekend! Whoever wins on Sunday will then move on to the National Semifinals on July 11th. After the National Semis, the winners will square off for the National Championship on Saturday, July 18th. All USL W League playoff matches can be followed live on SportsEngine Play and by monitoring the league website as well as their social media.
Written by Max Dresbach
