Last week marked the start of preseason for the second season of Salmon Bay FC soccer. Led by head coach Malia Arrant, this group of players and staff will look to win a first NW Division Title and make their playoff debut.
A combination of returners and newcomers make up a highly competitive and deep roster that prioritizes local soccer talent both on the pitch and amongst the technical staff.
Ahead of the May 15th season opener against FC Olympia, let’s examine what to look out for as the club begins its second-ever summer.
Key Returners
The 2026 roster is headlined by the number of returners from last season’s conference-winning side. With heavy turnover from year to year in USL W as a league, it is rare to find a team that has continuity in their roster from year to year, yet Salmon Bay FC has just that. This continuity allows Salmon Bay FC to have a roster filled with USL W experience even with the club only going to their second season. The roster includes 18 returners from the club’s inaugural season in 2025 as well as one new player, Ava Uribe, who worked as an intern for the club last summer while she was rehabbing from injury.
In goal, Elena Milam returns to Interbay after being the starter for much of 2025. In the offseason, she became the first Salmon Bay FC player to sign a professional contract and had a stint in Cyprus with Apollon Ladies before joining her current club, VfR Warbeyen Frauen, in Germany. Milam is the lone returner in the goalkeeping group.
Across the backline, seven of the eleven rostered defenders are returners from last season. The seven returners are Keeley Dockter, Alicia Barker, Juju Barker, Kaya Hanson, Maya Loudd, Sophie Hanay, and Andie Miller. A. Barker and K. Dockter were co-captains in 2025 and will lead the defense as they look to concede the fewest goals in the league once again.
Aliyah Dockter, Amelia Severn, Ameera Hussen, Milly Bray, Anna Menti, and U’i Kaaihue return to the midfield. Menti led all midfielders in minutes played last season was tied for the most league assists on the team in 2025. In the fall, she won a Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championship with the University of Washington. Bray became the youngest goalscorer for Salmon Bay FC with her goals last summer, and will look to add to her tally this year.
In attack, there is a trio of returners with Samiah Shell, Chloe Seelhoff, and Maya Courtenay coming back. Shell and Seelhoff were the club’s leading scorers in 2025, and will aim to cement their status at the top with more goals this summer. Courtenay was an instant impact substitute last season, with a goal or assist every 35 minutes, the best ratio on the team.
New additions
Alongside the 18 returners are a host of exciting new players to complete the roster.
With three players (Hallie Bergford, Sadie Sider-Echenberg, and Fiona Doherty) from the 2025 roster going pro and not returning this summer, there are some positional question marks going into the season. The biggest question mark is in goal as Milam is still finishing her professional season in Germany and will not be able to play for Salmon Bay until midseason. Players who regularly featured in the front three are now plying their trade professionally. To answer this, Salmon Bay have added three young goalkeepers to the squad. Anica Carpenter, Blayke Warner, and Natalie Gram are joining the GK union this summer. Carpenter plays for Elon University, and before that spent two seasons with Seattle University. Warner is an incoming freshman at the University of Portland, but graduated high school early to join the Pilots this spring. Gram still has one more year of high school but is committed to Gonzaga University where she will be a freshman in 2027.
Outside of the goalkeeping group, some new players to keep an eye on are Ginny Lackey in attack and Morgan Manalili in midfield. Lackey is a two-time All-American at James Madison University and was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2024. Last summer, she was second in the USL W League for goals and won the NW Division with her former club, FC Olympia. Manalili is the lone National Champion on the squad, winning it all with Western Washington University in 2022. In addition to a National Title, Manalili was the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year this past fall and has won countless other individual awards in her collegiate career.
Local Ties and Collegiate Chemistry
A key part of any roster is team chemistry, and Salmon Bay FC’s 2025 team chemistry is aided by the fact that so many of these players are college teammates. Locally, the roster includes five players who have played for or will play for the University of Washington, four from Seattle University, two from Western Washington University, two from Gonzaga University, and one each from Seattle Pacific and Central Washington University. The four Washington players are returners Loudd, Menti, Shell, Seelhoff (transferred) and Hussen (graduated). The four redhawks are Kaaihue, J. Barker (graduated), Carpenter (transferred), and Jourdyn Curran (graduated). The duo from Western are Manalili and Kyrsten Mcguffey (both graduated). From Gonzaga, Severn returns and is joined by Gram (2027 commit). Hanay is the lone SPU Falcon on the squad and Jaylee Reynolds joins from Central Washington.
Even farther away this trend continues with groups at an additional three universities. The returning Dockter sisters both play at Portland in the spring and were joined by Warner this spring. Additionally, there are two out of state duos. Seelhoff played alongside new center back Malli Rude at the University of Montana, and new players Lauder Headrick and Eleanor Morrissey play for the University of Southern California.
Salmon Sisters
This year, the Salmon Sisters return as both the Barker sisters and Dockter sisters are back with Salmon Bay FC.
Aliyah and Keeley Dockter are used to playing with each other as they were teammates at Portland, but for the Barkers this is a unique experience. Salmon Bay FC is the first time that Alicia and Juju have played together since their youth soccer days.
International Players
This year’s Salmon Bay FC squad is very experienced all around, but there are trio of players with a very unique playing experience to bring to the field.
Curran and the Barker sisters all have played for the Philippine National Team. Juju Barker made her international debut during the Salmon Bay FC season last year, while Curran made her debut earlier this year. Alicia Barker has the most experience of the trio, and even played at the 2023 World Cup and helped the country get its first-ever World Cup win.
With internationals, national champions, All-Americans, former professionals, and more, the 2026 roster is stacked and ready for a title charge.
The Complete 2026 Salmon Bay FC Roster.
Written by Max Dresbach
