Just like on the men’s side in 2025, the 2026 USL W League National Final is a west coast v. east coast showdown featuring Seattle’s and Vermont’s premier pre-professional women’s soccer clubs. This time however, Vermont is making the cross-country trip.
Salmon Bay FC is hosting Vermont Green FC in the National Final on Saturday, July 18th at Interbay Stadium with kickoff at 5pm. Despite never playing each other, there is some history between the two clubs as Vermont Green’s men’s team took down Salmon Bay FC’s brother club, Ballard FC, 2-1 in the 2025 USL League Two National Final. As they say “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme” and it sure has done that as the two women’s teams meet for the first time on Saturday night as they battle for the league’s ultimate prize.
Now let’s meet the Eastern Conference Champions and Saturday’s visitors.
Vermont Green FC
Vermont Green FC are in their inaugural season on the USL W League side and are yet to lose a match as club, going 9-0-4 (including playoffs) in 2026.
Even though they went undefeated, Vermont’s four draws in the regular season meant that they could not clinch the Northeast Division Title and along with it, the lone playoff berth until the final day of the season. In fact, the Green needed three straight wins at the end of the regular season to secure their spot in the postseason. So just like Salmon Bay FC, the Green have been in “playoff mode” for longer than just these last three matches.
Vermont has been able to stay undefeated in large part due to their defense, which has only conceded six goals all year and has played over 360 consecutive minutes without giving up a goal. However on occasion, Vermont has had some shortcomings in the goalscoring department. The Green scored 29 regular season goals, fewer than both the Central Conference and Western Conference Champions, and 17 of those 29 goals game against AC Connecticut, a club that finished the season with just one point and a -50 goal differential.
Saturday’s final will be a battle between two of the best defenses in the country as Salmon Bay FC have yet to concede a goal from open play in 330 minutes of playoff soccer. Salmon Bay FC have twice gone to extra time and then penalty kicks this postseason while Vermont Green FC have had to travel across the country this week and so it could be a match of tired legs that sees the more “fit” team take advantage.
Set pieces will likely be a key factor in the match as both clubs, especially the Green, look to take advantage of these situations. The Green’s leading goalscorer this season has done just that as Violet Rademacher has used her aerial ability to score five goals this season despite playing as a midfielder and not in the front line. Olivia Grenda lead the Green in assists and will look to find the head of Rademacher or any of her attacking teammates this weekend.
Get tickets to Saturday’s final!
MATCH DETAILS
Fans should look at the below “Know Before You Go” matchday guidelines and read all of the below information to know what to expect from Saturday’s matches.
Gates: Gates open at 3:30pm! We recommend arriving early to enjoy the food and beer offerings, watch the players warm up, beat the hassle of traffic and parking, and to enjoy all of the prematch festivities. Also Saturday’s match is a sell out and some fans will be watching from outside the stadium, please arrive early to guarantee you don’t miss any of the game action.
Parking Lot Viewing: As mentioned in the images above, there will be additional viewing in the parking lot behind the west fence. The vinyl banner will be taken down for better visibility.
Food Vendors: Beyond the thrilling soccer action, Saturday’s match will feature an array of food vendors, including Kottu, Urban Native, Big Boys Filipino, and Mainstay Provisions. Also, before you head to Pagliacci Pitch, you can take advantage of the Pagliacci Pizza BOGO slice deal on game days. Just show your ticket at any Pagliacci location and get two slices for the price of one. Outside food is not allowed in the venue except for Pagliacci Pizza. Fans can also purchase snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and hot dogs (including the famous “Ballard Dog”) from the concession stand.
Ballard Food Bank: We also encourage fans to support the community by bringing donations of any non-perishable item for the Ballard Food Bank.
Beer Garden: The Bridges United Foundation Beer Garden is back and better than ever this season. The Beer Garden proudly serves Stoup Brewing. In addition to beer from Stoup, fans can purchase tequila from Orgullo Ajeno Tequila, cider from Incline Cider, N/A beer from Athletic Brewing, and wine from Vino FC. The Beer Garden is all ages, however there is a 21+ zone in the southeast corner of the stadium, which includes the new bleachers that were installed during phase one of the Interbay Stadium Expansion, which was completed earlier this month. Although alcohol can only be purchase inside the Beer Garden, fans can now take beer, wine, and cider outside of the Beer Garden and back to their seats or standing room area. Check out the Beverage Map below.
Transportation: Parking is extremely limited and will not be available in the parking lot by the time gates open. Street parking can be found to the north, east, or west of the stadium. We highly recommend alternative forms of transportation, including biking as we will have the Wombi Bike Parking area available at every home match this year. Please also consider riding King County Metro on game day, where youth through age 18 always ride free! Check out transit mode in Google Maps, the TripPlanner.kingcounty.gov website, or an app like OneBusAway. For more information, check out our full matchday transportation guide.
Live Stream: Can’t make it to the match? All Salmon Bay FC home matches will be streamed live and can be found at salmonbayfc.com/stream.
Written by Max Dresbach
