Salmon Bay FC brought their inaugural season to a spectacular close on Sunday with a dominant 8–0 victory over Bigfoot FC at Interbay Stadium.
From the kickoff it was clear that Salmon Bay were determined to make a statement in their final match of the season.
The first opportunity came just two minutes in, when a Salmon Bay corner drifted dangerously across the face of goal, just missing the numbers crashing into the box. Just a minute later, Kelsey Kwon sent a cross through the six-yard box that was scrambled clear, setting the tone for a game that would be played almost entirely in Bigfoot’s defensive third.
In the eighth minute, Maia Tabion threaded a pass to Amelia Severn, whose shot narrowly missed the target, and soon after, Tabion herself let fly from inside the box, forcing a save.
Every clearance from Bigfoot was quickly recovered by the Salmon Bay back line, with Menti orchestrating in front and feeding the attacks.
In the 17th minute, Sadie Sider-Echenberg combined with Menti and drove into the box, firing a shot just wide of the post. Minutes later, Shell burst through defenders and forced a diving save.
Finally, in the 36th minute, the overwhelming pressure cracked the visitors.
Samiah Shell’s constant high pressure was rewarded as she stole the ball directly off the goalkeeper, and calmly rolled the ball into the empty net to give Salmon Bay the lead. Then just four minutes later, Sider-Echenberg made it two, weaving past defenders and slotting a composed finish inside the far post. The floodgates were open.
In the 43rd, Shell collected the ball at the top of the box, danced her way into the box, and placed a curling strike into the top corner for her second—giving Salmon Bay a 3–0 lead going into halftime.
Salmon Bay FC made four changes at the half to keep the energy high. Alex Chang, Hallie Bergford, Chloe Seelhoff, and Kaya Hanson came in to replace Severn, Juju Barker, Alicia Barker, and Kwon. Just three minutes into the second half, Chang thought she’d added a fourth, but her goal was ruled offside. The crowd only had to postpone those celebrations for a few moments as a long ball from Menti found Tabion, who rounded the keeper with confidence and slotted it home to make it four.
Then in the 50th minute, Bergford cut through the defense and squared a perfect pass to Shell, who calmly finished from close range to complete her hat trick—the first in Salmon Bay FC history.
The scoring spree wasn’t done there. Only a few minutes after that, Bergford played another slicing pass, this time in for Seelhoff, who went by the keeper with ease and made it 6–0.
Salmon Bay was clearly unstoppable. In the 59th minute, Bigfoot conceded a free kick just outside the box. Sider-Echenberg stood over it, surveying her options. When the ref’s whistle blew she charged at the ball and rifled a driven shot to the near post. 7–0.
Salmon Bay continued their relentless pressure. Bergford nearly added a goal of her own in the 68th with a well struck volley, but it was waved offside. Moments later, she sent another shot just wide of the far post after beating her defender.
In the 76th minute, the eighth and final goal arrived. Substitute Maya Courtenay drove down the left flank and picked out a perfect cutback to Seelhoff, who calmly walked it into the back of the net for her second of the match.
The final minutes were marked by confident passing, crowd energy, and total control. With the whistle, Salmon Bay secured a flawless finish to their first campaign.
MATCH DETAILS
FULLTIME: Salmon Bay FC 8 – 0 Bigfoot FC
Goals: Shell (36’, 43’, 51’), Sider-Echenberg (40’, 59’), Tabion (48’), Seelhoff (52’, 76’)
Starting XI: Milam, J. Barker, A. Barker, K. Dockter, Loudd, Menti, Kwon, Tabion, Severn, Sider-Echenberg, Shell
Substitutes Used: Chang, Seelhoff, Bergford, Hanson, Carroll, Doherty, Courtenay, A. Dockter, Dickinson
Player of the Match: Anna Menti pulling the strings in the midfield and locking down the defense
WHAT’S NEXT?
With the season officially closed, Salmon Bay FC wants to thank all of the supporters who filled Interbay all season long, this is just the beginning!
Written by Rowan Rathbun
